Dork
by Haitus80
Summary: Daryl was thankful that the girl had worked so hard to help him get his grades up, but thanks to his brother, he needed a much bigger favor now. Carol, brilliant but painfully shy, agrees to help him by pretending to be his girlfriend, never expecting the favor to change her life so much. High school prompt. AU no ZA. Short story.
1. Chapter 1

**This is another prompt and I was able to kill two birds with one stone with this one and do two prompts in one story. Yay for that =) Anyway, surely no more than 5 chapters. Hope you ladies enjoy and thanks for tossing me ideas for these little things! They're fun.**

 **Chapter One**

Daryl tapped the tip of his pencil on his desk as his leg bounced nervously. He was chewing his nails and every so often his eyes would shift longingly towards the clock that hung above the door to the classroom. When he wasn't glancing at the clock he was casting half fearful looks at the girl a few desks away from his. A few times she'd catch him looking and offer him a shy encouraging smile but mostly she kept her nose shoved in the book she had opened in front of her.

"Daryl?"

His head snapped up so fast that he winced at the pain in his neck. One more worried glance towards the girl, one more reassuring smile from her seat and he was making his way to the desk at the head of the classroom.

Mr. Montgomery shuffled a few papers in front of him, pushed his glasses up his nose, moved his pencil holder over a half an inch and then finally, finally, looked up at Daryl with a half smile on his lips. "Well, color me surprised, Mr. Dixon, really." He handed over the paper in his hand and Daryl snatched it quickly, nearly tearing it, and looked down at it, almost too afraid to see what was on it.

"C plus," he muttered breathlessly, almost to himself.

Mr. Montgomery nodded and ran a hand over his shiny bald dome of a head. "That was what you needed. You get to move on and be a senior with the rest of them. And it would have been a lot better had your percentage not been so damn low when we started this little experiment."

Daryl's heart was slamming hard in his chest but he schooled his features, folded the paper and slipped it into his back pocket before turning around to head back to his seat. There was only a few more minutes before the bell would ring and he could finally get the hell out of here. He was going to try to not look her way but his eyes met hers as he headed down the isle and, fight it as he might, a rare grin graced his face.

She smiled then and went back to her book. He was almost sad that it was over. He didn't need her anymore. He had been failing miserably and the one teacher that never seemed to lose faith in him, Mr. Montgomery, had ignored his refusals and set him up with a tutor. Carol was the smartest damn girl to ever step foot in the school but Daryl had had his doubts that she could help him.

She was bookish, quiet, unpopular, totally shy and unsure of herself but she was goddamn brilliant and she had a way of explaining things that even penetrated his thick stubborn skull. When he had first talked to her it was only because he had no choice. He wasn't exactly a popular guy himself, known mostly for having a short temper and for being the kid brother of the infamous Merle Dixon. He hadn't had a damn chance long before he ever started going to this school.

But after working with her for three days a week for the last six months, he felt a little regret that it was over. They didn't really talk a whole lot other than what they _had_ to talk about, which was World History, but at least it was something. Now it was back to hanging around his regular old crew.

As soon as the bell rang he watched her gather her books and load them up in her bag. Today was suppose to be one of those days that he stayed over with her but not anymore.

"Congratulations, Daryl. I'm really proud of you," she said quietly, not looking at him as she hurried past, her face turning pink.

Her words brought him up short and he found himself still sitting at his desk staring after her. She hadn't even given him a chance to thank her for helping him. She'd spent a lot of her own personal time getting him ready for that damn test and she had never complained about it. Of course, he hadn't really ever seen her hanging out with friends or doing much socializing at all so maybe to her it was just something to do.

"Daryl? You like my class so much that you decide to spend the rest of the summer sitting there? I'm flattered, seriously, but maybe you can do something more constructive. Go get a job, kid," Mr. Montgomery eyed him from over his spectacles.

He got up, grumbling to himself, wishing he hadn't gotten so damn distracted. "I'll see you around old timer," he said before he slipped out the door.

"Old timer. I can still change that grade you little...," the man yelled as Daryl took off down the hall but he didn't catch that last part. He'd miss that son of a bitch. The only teacher he had ever had that didn't just pretend to give a fuck.

He hurriedly cleaned out his locker, shoving everything into his bag and wondering if he was going to get that job for the summer. If he played his cards right, maybe talk to Carol and see if she could do a little more tutoring, maybe he'd graduate early next year and finally be able to start his damn life.

"Sweet freedom, huh?" Joe asked, slamming Daryl's locker closed and nearly smashing his fingers in the process.

Daryl groaned inwardly. He wasn't a huge fan of Joe but his brother and Daryl's brother ran in the same crowd so Daryl was destined to be one of the guy's only friends. He shrugged, shouldering his bag. "Yeah, freedom from here for the summer anyway. I'm gonna try to get a job until school starts back up."

Joe scoffed. "What the hell for? We got shit to do this summer Dixon. Starting tonight."

Daryl looked over sharply as they pushed through the doors. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

Joe winked. Daryl fucking hated it when he did that shit. "Our brothers plan on takin' us out. Alcohol, weed, pussy. We finally get to play with the big dogs now, boy. We're meeting up at the garage tonight. Don't even think about flaking out on me, man."

There was no way in hell he was gonna spend a night at the garage with his brother and his brother's fucked up cronies. There wasn't enough beer in the world to make that an appealing idea. "I'll think about it."

Joe looked pained and he stopped in front of Daryl's pick up. "Come on, man. What the hell is your deal?"

"I already had plans."

Daryl turned when he heard a raspy laugh behind him and he had to force himself not to curse out loud. Merle was eying him, a mean smile on face. "What the hell are you doin' here?" Daryl asked, not even bothering to sound happy to see him.

Merle quirked an eyebrow. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were sore at seein' your big brother."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "You never come here. What do you want?"

Merle chuckled, apparently in a better mood than usual. "Well, I figured since you worked so damn hard bringin' those credits up that I went ahead and decided that you're hell bent on graduating, am I right?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes. He remembered the conversation he'd had with his brother when he'd mentioned being behind on his credits. Merle had laughed, shoved a joint in his face and said, _Who gives a shit about credits, Darylina. See, that's your problem. Always frettin'. You're a Dixon. That means you need to get your act together, drop the fuck out and find your ass a trade, boy. You think I gave a shit about things like grades? And look at me. I got a good job doin' what I love to do. I got a new bitch in the sack every night, my own place. Hell, I even feed and clothe your scrawny little ass. Stop chasin' a pipe dream._

"Yeah," he muttered, knowing this wasn't leading anywhere good. "What about it?"

Merle eyed Joe for a second and then jerked his head towards Daryl's truck. "Take this piece of shit to my place and park her." He tossed the keys and before Daryl could snatch them Joe had them in his hand and was yanking the door to the truck open, no questions asked. Merle was kind of the leader of their group and no one questioned him. Mostly because he was an asshole but also because he was dangerous when he wanted to be.

"What the fuck, Merle! I ain't ridin' bitch on your bike. I need my goddamn truck!"

Merle grinned. "No you don't."

Daryl glared for a few more seconds and then followed Merle's gaze. He blinked at what he saw, glanced at Merle once more and then looked back towards Merle's bike again. But it wasn't Merle's bike that had his eyes nearly bugging out of his head and his mouth hanging open. It was the bike next to Merle's. The one he'd literally dreamed about. The one that Merle had been working on for months now and all he'd tell Daryl about it was, it was for a preferred customer.

"You just gonna stand there with a hard on or you gonna go check it out?" Merle asked, slapping him on the back so hard he nearly stumbled off the sidewalk.

Surely Merle hadn't brought the bike here just to rub it in Daryl's face. He wasn't that fucking cruel, was he? Actually...

"Well?"

"What the hell is it doin' here?" Daryl asked, approaching the gleaming machine almost reverently.

The smile faded from Merle's lips and he rubbed his hand over his head. He kept his eyes on the bike but now Daryl was watching him closely. "Look, you took a lot of shit while I was gone. Hell, you take a lot of shit from me now that I'm back. I ain't always done right by you and I don't know why the hell finishing school means so much to you, but you've busted your ass. You deserve it."

Daryl tried but he couldn't bring himself to believe the man. "Come on, Merle. You've played some good tricks in your time but this... Well, goddamn it, this is too much. You know how much I love this damn bike. Hell, I go to the garage damn near every day and drool over it. Don't-"

"Shut up," Merle said, nudging him closer. "The thing is yours if you want it. If not then hitch a ride and I'll-"

"You serious? You built me a fucking bike?" Daryl asked, his hand running lovingly over the leather seat.

"Don't make a big scene over it. You start tearing up on me or shrieking like some teenage girl and I'm gonna take it back and then run your ass over with it."

He barely registered Merle's harsh tone. He couldn't believe the man had done this for him. He knew Merle loved him, of course. They were brothers. They were blood. But Merle had a funny way of showing it most of the time. "Is there a catch?" he asked, meeting Merle's eyes.

Merle shrugged. "Meet the rest of us at the garage tonight. Hang out, have a good time, get your dick wet, we'll call it even, alright. I worry about you, boy."

Daryl grimaced. He was seventeen so sure he was interested in chicks, but goddamn the women that hung off his brother wasn't the type he'd ever want to screw. Some guys, hell most guys, couldn't keep their eyes off women like them with their bodies on display and that hungry gleam in their eyes. But Daryl just found them... well... sad. They let themselves be used by men that didn't give a shit about them. They opened their legs for anybody. He didn't want anything to do with that scene. "I can't," he said, shaking his head as he tried to come up with a good excuse.

"What the hell do you mean you can't? It's the last day of school," Merle barked.

"I... I..." Fuckin' Christ, think Daryl! "I can't be messin' around like that. I...er... I got a girlfriend and shit. A serious one. I ain't interested in fuckin' around, ya know?"

Merle stared at him, his face expressionless, and Daryl shifted on his feet, wishing he would have came up with something better than that. "Since when? Joe woulda said somethin'."

"He don't know about her. She... she has strict parents, ya know? And if they found out she was messin' around with a Dixon they'd lose their shit. She..."

Merle grinned. "You been puttin' it to some chick that far outta your league?"

Daryl wanted to kick himself in the ass but all he could do was nod. "Yeah, and it's kinda serious so I ain't interested in messin' around with any of your girls."

Merle sighed heavily. "How the fuck are we even related?"

Daryl shrugged. "Can I still have the bike?"

"Sure. And your ass is still comin' to this party too. Just bring the girl with you. Where is she anyway? I wanna meet her before hand."

Daryl's heart skipped a beat and he scanned the yard, his eyes raking over the girls and knew that most of them wouldn't even talk to him if he tried to make conversation. Merle's reputation had sealed Daryl's fate at this school. And then he saw her.

"She's over there," he pointed.

Just then Carol looked up, her arms loaded down with books, her ponytail askew. She smiled at him and then looked away quickly. Daryl scrunched up his face when he saw her trip over an uneven section of sidewalk, dropping the armload of books just before catching her balance.

"Are you serious?" Merle muttered, watching her curiously. "That girl? The one in the ankle length skirt? The one pickin' up all them books?"

"She's cool," Daryl muttered lamely.

Merle's brows looked ready to creep into his hairline as Carol stood up, blew a strand of messy hair out of her face and continued on towards... Oh God. She didn't have a car. He knew she didn't have a car. She rode a fucking bike to school. "Does she give good head or somethin'?"

"Damn it, Merle," Daryl grumbled.

"No, I mean, she's... cute. I guess. Or she could be if she wasn't..." He glanced at Daryl then and finally threw his arms up in exasperation. "She's a goddamn dork! A frumpy little... dork. Jesus..."

Daryl winced, shaking his head. "Merle, come the fuck on. She's nice and-"

"Nice can only get you so far, little brother. She's wearin' a sweater. With birds on it for fuck's sake. Come on, just meet me and I'll find you a-"

"We'll be there, okay? And you better not say anything mean to her. Just cause she don't dress in clothes so tight you can see her fucking uterus don't mean there ain't a nice fuckin' body under... all them clothes."

Merle was silent for a while and then finally he shrugged. "Look, I get it. She kinda reminds me of a librarian and some fellas get turned on by that. Just... I'll make sure to tell the guys not to laugh at her to her face, okay?" He shook his head and mounted his own bike just as Carol dumped her books into the basket on the back of hers.

"I'll see you tonight then," Daryl said, wishing he hadn't dug himself into this fucking hole. He waited for Merle to pull away and then he took off at a jog before Carol could take off down the street. Before she pushed off the curb he rounded on her and grabbed the handlebars. She squeaked out a startled sound and her wide eyes landed on him.

It took him a few long seconds to catch his breath.

"Daryl? Are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded and dropped his hands. "Yeah. No. Fuck I don't know."

She frowned. "Well, did you need something?"

He snorted, shaking his head. "A favor. I need a favor." Damn it, she was gonna think he was a weirdo.

She nodded. "Oh, okay. What do you need then?"

"I need you to go out with me tonight." He knew he had worded it wrong as soon as he saw her expression. Her lips thinned into a disapproving line and she angled the bike away from him.

"That's real funny, Daryl. You know, the least you could do, since you don't need my help anymore, is make fun of me behind my back like the rest of your friends so at least I don't have to feel bad about it."

He scowled. "What? I ain't got any damn friends but if you're talkin' about the people that hang around me all the time, none of them have said anything about you because if they did I'd break their damn face and they know it. What the hell did I do to piss you off?" Why would she think he was making fun of her?

She waved another strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face again and eyed him warily. "Why is me going somewhere with you a favor?"

He groaned and then rubbed the back of his neck, not willing to meet her eyes this time. "Because my brother gave me a bike, apparently for all the hard work I've been doin'. He said all I have to do to be able to keep it is show up at this dumb ass party he put together tonight. He wanted to... he was plannin' on tryin' to set me up with somebody but I ain't interested so I told him I had a girlfriend." He finally looked up, reading the complete disbelief in her eyes. God this was fucking embarrassing.

"And you told him that I was the girlfriend? Why would you do that?" she asked.

He shrugged, unsure why he had used her of all people. The two of them couldn't be more different. "You just kinda ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you don't want to then I get it. No hard feelin's or anything."

She chewed her lip for a few long moments and finally pulled in a shaky breath. "So, we're just pretending, right? I show up, he thinks I'm your girlfriend and then you can take me home?"

He hated that the thought of actually being his girlfriend seemed so goddamn off putting but he didn't blame her. They were just too different. He nodded.

"Fine," she said hesitantly. "What time do I need to be ready?"

"Are you fuckin' serious?" he asked, almost not believing that the shy girl was actually going to go through with this.

"Yes. I mean, it isn't like I ever get asked out on real dates so why not go on a fake one?" She looked very much like she hadn't meant to say those words out loud and the tone of voice she delivered them had him frowning again.

He felt bad for feeling that way. She actually was good looking even though she hid it well and she was smart and she was the nicest person he'd ever talked to. Hell she had spent six months of her life helping a stranger for no personal gain at all. "I don't know how the hell I'm gonna pay you back for this one but I'm gonna try like hell, okay?"

She offered him a small smile and ducked her head. "I didn't have any plans anyway."

"I'll pick you up at seven then. Should I come to the door? Your parents won't try to shoot me or anything will they?"

She shook her head. "I don't have any. I mean, they're dead." She flushed. "They died when I was little. I live with my older sister now and she works a lot so I'm usually home alone so you can come to the door if you want," she rambled on and he realized he actually knew nothing about her, but found himself really curious to learn. And she lived with an older sibling. So did he. That was something they had in common anyway.

"I'll see you at seven then."

She nodded and finally maneuvered the ten speed around him. He watched her pedal away before he turned to his own bike.

If nothing else, at least tonight would be kind of interesting anyway. And he wasn't dreading it as much as he had a little bit ago. Ever since she had started tutoring him, he had found that it was easy to be comfortable around her. She didn't look at him with any judgment in her eyes and that was a refreshing thing for a Dixon kid.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Carol was so surprised to see her sister's car in the drive that she was halfway up the porch steps before she remembered all the books she'd been able to bring with her. She happened to get along well with the librarian at school and any time they got new copies of books, Carol was able to go through them and take her pick of the worn ones home.

As she made her way up the steps with her arm load the front door opened up and her sister stepped out. She was seven years Carol's senior and there was an obvious resemblance. Jenny had the same auburn hair, though hers was straight where Carol had to make due with unruly curls. She had the same pale skin, same smattering of freckles and same build but where Carol's eyes were blue, her sister's were brown. Her sister was more outgoing, making friends easily where Carol would rather spend time alone, her nose shoved into a book without worrying what others thought of her.

"Looks like you got your summer fix," Jenny said, leaning her hip into the door frame.

Carol shrugged. "I guess. What are you doing home?" she asked, stepping around her sister and heading into the house.

"I don't go in till ten tonight so I thought maybe we could grab some dinner and a movie."

Carol headed down the hall but she heard her sister's footsteps following her. Jenny worried about her and she knew it. She was always trying to talk to her about making more friends, going out more, doing something other than locking herself away in the house. She simply couldn't understand how Carol could be happy being alone so much. But _she_ was happy. She didn't want to have to pretend to be anything other than who she was. It seemed like most girls at school did that. They followed trends and they made sure they were up to date on all the latest gossip and fashion and their eyes stayed glued to whatever boy they deemed gorgeous that week.

That just wasn't her. She didn't want to be anyone other than who she was because she liked herself. She liked herself enough for it to not matter that no one else seemed to like her very much.

She sighed, dropped the books onto the bed and turned, flouncing down gracelessly and mentally preparing herself for her sister's reaction to her news. "I can't tonight," she said, studying her white sneakers and refusing to meet her sister's knowing look.

"Carol, I actually had to pull some strings to get most of the evening off so I could spend some time with you. Please don't tell me that you have reading to do and can't hang out with me. I'm really starting to worry about you." And it was true. Carol could hear the concern in her voice.

She finally raised her face. "Actually, I'm going out tonight." She still couldn't believe that she had agreed to this, and a part of her still suspected that she was about to walk into a Carry moment like in that old movie, but she said she would go and she trusted Daryl at least a little bit.

"Wait... what? You're going out? Like, with a boy?"

Carol didn't want to tell her sister the whole story because she looked so happy. She knew Daryl wasn't doing this because he liked her that way. He had been desperate and she had happened to be there. She was doing him a favor. "Yeah. The guy I've been tutoring."

Jenny grinned. "Oh my God."

Carol groaned and dramatically fell onto her mattress as her sister clapped her hands together excitedly.

"I'm being ditched!" She nearly yelled.

Carol raised up on her elbows and watched the dramatics.

"I'm being ditched by my kid sister because she has a date. This is probably the happiest day of my life!"

"Come on, Jen. Get a grip." She was almost sad that this wasn't actually anything real, or serious.

"We need to get you ready!"

Carol scowled. "I am ready."

Jenny looked devastated for a few beats and then she shook her head firmly. "No. Look, I let you get away with a lot, Carol Ann. I really do but I am putting my foot down right now. You like this guy, right?"

Carol swallowed and looked away. Of course she liked him. He was nice and he was smart and he was about as misunderstood as she was. There was nothing to not like about him. "Yes, I do," she said honestly and had to force the sadness out of her tone because she knew for a fact that he didn't like her. Not the same way.

"Please. Please please let me to this!"

"I'm not dressing like some tramp to go out with this guy," Carol said, sitting up and crossing her arms firmly over her chest.

Jenny scoffed. "Are you saying that I dress like a tramp?"

Carol fought a smile and then shrugged. "Sometimes!"

"Okay, look. I'm not letting you leave the house in the clothes you're wearing now. I have a brand new pair of jeans that would look amazing on you. They'll go great with that sleeveless lace top, the one I wore to dinner last week, the black one... and boots! Oh my God, you'll look amazing!"

Carol felt the blood drain from her face. She knew the very shirt her sister was talking about and she couldn't imagine wearing something like that. It was clingy and low cut and, sure, it looked really great on her sister, but she wasn't her sister. "I can't wear-" Before she could finish her sentence Jenny had her by both hands and was pulling her up from the bed. The happiness in her sister's eyes had her voice trailing away.

"This is gonna be so fun, I swear. Where are you going?"

"A party," Carol mumbled as Jenny dragged her into the master bedroom and kicked the door shut.

"A party. This is your first party!"

"Seriously, Jen, I can just wear this. It isn't like he cares what I look like. I was dressed this way when he asked me out." On a fake date as a desperate last resort, she added glumly.

"I know that. And really, there isn't anything wrong with your clothes but I want you to feel good about yourself, Carol. You don't have to hide behind all that bulk all the time. Trust me, I am so happy that this guy likes you for you but there's nothing wrong with a good girl that has a wild side to her."

Carol rolled her eyes as her sister turned her back on her and started rummaging through her closet. She flung a pair of dark jeans at her without even turning. Carol held them up and frowned. She opened her mouth to object but she was hit in the face by the shirt her sister had been hunting for.

"Strip," Jenny ordered as she spun around.

Carol stared at her. "I don't need you to dress me."

"Of course you do."

Carol wasn't going to argue. She was already in too deep and her sister did look happy to be helping her. She stripped down to her underwear and ignored the face her sister made.

"You're wearing granny panties."

Carol did some squirming but finally was able to get the jeans over her hips. Instantly she felt ridiculous. They were molded to her thighs and hips and they were cut much too low. "It doesn't matter what kind of panties I'm wearing because this isn't that kind of date. He won't get anywhere near them anyway."

Jenny made a face. "Well, of course not. But that bra won't do."

"He isn't getting anywhere near my bra either," she muttered, looking down at the plain white cotton covering her breasts and blushing all the way up to the tips of her ears.

"Contour little sister. Here," she said, forcing Carol to look up.

She gaped at the scrap of lace dangling from her sisters fingers. "I'm not wearing that!"

Jenny laughed. "Yes you are. Under wire. You'll need it with that shirt."

"It's padded!" She wished she had never told her sister about this. She didn't want to wear any of this!

Jenny was impossible, however, shoving the garment into Carol's unwilling hand and stepping around her. "Get dressed."

Carol watched her leave the room and plopped down on the bed. She loved her sister with all her heart, she really did, but she was driving her insane. She held up the bra and snorted, picturing herself actually wearing it. But then again, it was one stupid night and her sister was genuinely happy that her baby sister seemed to be coming out of her shell. Even though it wasn't real.

On the other hand, what would it hurt to go out of her comfort zone for a night? Regardless of why she was going out tonight, she was going out, so she could do something a little different, right? Her sister would be happy, maybe Daryl Dixon would realize that she was an actual female and maybe... maybe she would find that doing something risky wasn't exactly a bad thing.

She stood up and with a small spark of confidence she changed into the clothes that her sister had forced onto her.

~H~

Carol stared at her reflection in the mirror and wasn't sure if she was actually seeing herself.

"What do you think?" Jenny asked as she fastened the thin silver chain around her neck.

Carol shook her head. Jenny had tamed her hair and it was now piled strategically on top of her head, soft curls left loose to frame her face. She had even given in and let her use a little makeup, as long as she kept it minimal and now her eyes looked more blue than she had ever seen them before. The clothes showed off her figure without making her look like she was actually trying to show off her figure. The boots her sister had loaned her stopped mid calve and somehow made her legs look even longer than they were.

"I don't even look like me," she muttered, studying herself carefully.

Jenny sighed heavily. "Yes you do. That's the beauty of it. You look exactly like you."

"I don't know if I can do this," she said suddenly, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks again.

Jenny shrugged like this wasn't a big deal. "You have no choice. It's five after seven already. He's late, but if he's cute enough, I'll let it slide this one time."

Carol shook her head. "No, I mean, I really can't do this." Her heart was pounding hard and heavy and she felt like maybe, for the first time in a few months, she was going to have one of those horrible panic attacks.

Jenny opened her mouth to say something else but then they heard a knock at the door. Carol's heart sank into her stomach and then started beating way too fast, making her feel sick. It was stupid, really, because it shouldn't have been a big deal at all. She was doing someone a favor and she didn't even have to stay very long, but she had let her sister spend hours getting her ready and it wasn't like she could cancel on him. He really wanted this bike and he needed her help.

"Well, you gonna let him just stand out there until he decides you stood him up and leaves?" Jenny asked, raising a brow.

Carol took a deep breath and shook her head. "Of course not," she said, her voice sounding off even to herself.

Her sister offered her an encouraging smile and followed her down the hall and towards the front door. Carol glanced back, frowning.

"Are you seriously following me?"

Jenny smiled at that. "Do you really think I'm letting you leave without meeting this guy?"

"I..." She gave up at the look her sister was giving her. "Fine but he's kind of shy, okay? Don't say anything to embarrass either one of us, please."

Jenny held her gaze. "I won't. Now open the damn door, _please_."

Carol blew out a breath and gripped the doorknob, that sick feeling still very present in her stomach.

~H~

He felt like a real shit heel for this because he wasn't sure if his brother and the rest of those guys would be able to keep from saying anything rude to her. She wasn't like other girls and that was one of the things that he liked about her, but that didn't mean shit to those assholes. They'd see someone different and they'd pounce. And if one of them, his brother included, said one thing to hurt her fucking feelings he was gonna knock their damn teeth out.

He raised his hand and was about to knock again but suddenly the door was pulled open and some girl was standing there staring at him. He glanced at her briefly and then tried to look past her but then he realized that this was her.

But it wasn't the same girl he was used to seeing. He felt his eyes widen and could do nothing to stop them. He also had no control over the way they roamed over her, trying to take in as much of her as they could.

"Holy shit," she muttered. He felt the blood rush to his face when he realized that he had said that out loud but at the moment he had about as much control over his mouth as he did his eyeballs. He had liked this girl almost from the moment that he had met her, had even wondered a time or two if he should try a little harder to actually talk to her about more than school work, but he had never been able to work up the nerve. Now it seemed to be worse.

"Hi," she said, sounding as awkward as he felt. "I didn't think my sister would be here but she is and she insisted on treating me like some sort of fashion experiment and then she refused to stop there. This is too much, isn't it?" she looked damn near panicked.

He shook his head. "What? No. You look..." Well, she looked like the same girl that he'd gotten to know over the past half a year, just in a different package at the moment.

Her face turned even redder and he wasn't sure what the fuck to say. It hadn't been easy to talk to her before but now he couldn't think at all.

"Hello?"

His eyes slid over to another person that he hadn't even noticed was standing there. She looked a lot like Carol and he knew this had to be her sister. "Hey," he muttered, feeling even more uncomfortable now.

"So, you're Daryl?" The woman pressed, grinning.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Can you have her home by dawn?" the woman asked.

"I... what? Dawn?" surely she was fucking with him.

"She's kidding," Carol said, finally stepping onto the porch. He had to take a step back to give her room. "What time do you think this thing will be over?"

He shrugged. "Whenever you want it to be," he offered, wishing that he didn't feel so fucking jumbled at the moment.

"How about you have her home by midnight at the latest? That work for you?" the woman asked when it became obvious that neither one of them knew what to say.

He nodded. "Sounds good." He stared at Carol for a few more awkward moments before he finally jerked his head towards the truck. "You ready?"

She didn't look up but she nodded quickly, following him down the steps. He didn't dare look over his shoulder at the woman he knew was still waiting in the doorway because he had just managed to make a complete ass of himself and he didn't want to see that spark of humor in her eyes. Carol was about to walk around to the passenger side of the truck but he stopped her with a hand on her elbow.

She looked over her shoulder and he felt his face flame.

"That door's been busted since before I was born. Gotta crawl in on my side," he said, clearly embarrassed about the condition of the truck.

She wordlessly stepped around him and he waited for her to climb in, refusing to look at her ass just because he could, reminding himself over and over that he had liked her before ever knowing that she had an ass that damn nice to begin with. He backed out of her driveway, trying to think of something, anything to say to her. By the time he reached the first stop sign he finally managed to spit something out that didn't sound stupid.

"Thanks for doin' this," he said, unable to remember if he had thanked her when she had agreed to it.

She shrugged. "It isn't a big deal. Or it wasn't until my sister decided to play dress up with me. She worries." She kept her head turned towards the side window so he couldn't gauge her features. She sounded a little bit bitter, though.

He decided that he probably shouldn't comment on her make over, since it was clear she hadn't been a very willing participant in it. "I know the feelin'. My brother says that all the time."

She did look over at that. "That he worries about you?"

He snorted. "That's what he says but it ain't what he means. He's a well known guy with a reputation to maintain. The only damn thing he's worried about is me not living up to the Dixon name and him lookin' bad for it."

"The Dixon name?" she asked.

He looked over sharply, searching her eyes for a second before a laughed, albeit a little bitterly. He pulled into the parking lot and shoved the truck in park. "You can't tell me you ain't heard of my family before. Shit, you really don't get out much do you? No wonder you agreed to this." Her willingness to help him out made more sense now.

"I agreed because you asked me," she said quietly. "And no, I think we both know at this point that I don't get out much. I don't have what you would call a social life of any kind, I don't stay up late texting my friends and I don't have to worry about being the life of the party because I'm never invited to any. My idea of a good day is a day that people ignore me because if they're ignoring me, at least I'm not getting ridiculed for my clothes or my hair or the fact that the only boy I've spoken to since starting high school at all is you, and that's only because you needed help with History. So, no, I haven't heard about you, or your family, and quite frankly, I don't care. You've always been nice to me, you've never made fun of me and from what I know, you haven't made me a huge joke behind my back, so I'm here because I want to be here, bad reputation or not."

He stared at her, shocked that she had said so much, but more shocked at the words themselves. He had no idea what the hell to say to that so he didn't say anything at all. Besides, she looked like she wanted to disappear after her little outburst. Her chest heaved slightly, her face was flushed and her eyes stayed trained on the windshield.

He cleared his throat, tapped his fingers on the steering wheel a few times and finally took a deep breath as he stared at the building. "Well, you ready for your first party then?" he asked lamely.

She finally looked over, her eyes over bright as she chewed her lip. "I wish I could say yes but I'm nervous."

He wanted to give it to her straight. "You should be. I run with a rough crowd. They're rowdy, lewd, likely drunk already. You sure you wanna do this, cause you really don't have to. I know I was pushy about it earlier, but I don't feel right connin' you into doin' something you don't wanna do."

She nodded firmly.

"You sure you're sure?" he pressed.

She sighed and he corner of her mouth turned up. "If nothing else, at the end of the night, even if it all goes horribly wrong, I can look myself in the eye and say that I did something that I normally wouldn't do. Let's go."

She seemed hell bent on it so he slid out of the truck. They stood there for a few long moments, neither moving towards the doors. Someone else may not have understood what she was going through at the moment. It was just a party. Not a big deal. But it was to her and this made it a big deal to him too. He hadn't realized how goddamn scared she was until now and he felt miserably for being the one to force her out of her comfort zone.

She finally looked up at him. "I guess it's now or never, right?"

He gave her a swift nod and then she slipped her hand into his. "I'm suppose to be your girlfriend, right?"

He swallowed, flexing his fingers around hers as his heart thumped painfully behind his ribs. "Yeah, so I guess we gotta play the role for now." He ignored the fact that just the simple feel of her hand in his had his head reeling.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Carol really hoped that she didn't look as nervous as she felt. There were a lot of people milling about, the music was loud and the women... well, she shouldn't have worried about her shirt being cut too low. She wasn't sure if her face had ever felt so hot before. The most unexpected thing about all of it, however, was that it was all worth it just because of the rush she felt as her hand gripped Daryl's.

It was all sensory overload as he led her towards the back of the room. She wasn't a risk taker so her body wasn't accustomed to the adrenalin rush she got just by being close to this guy. It wasn't like the two of them had never spent hours with their heads huddled together over the same book before. If she was being honest with herself, this wasn't even the first time that she had caught him staring at her from the corner of her eye.

But this was the first time that she actually had to pretend to be someones boyfriend. And she had to force herself out of her shell because she couldn't just stand there like a mute all night.

"You sure you're okay with this?" he asked, his lips close to her ear because that was the only way she would have heard him.

She nodded, took a deep breath and then looked up at him. He was watching her carefully. "So, what now? Are we suppose to make out in front of your brother or something?" she was joking, of course, but the look on his face was so surprised that she found herself laughing.

He snorted out a laugh of his own and shook his head. "You have jokes. But nah, all he has to do is see you here and then he won't try to push any of these damn women at me like he usually does."

She looked around at the crowd, paying close attention to some of the women that kept glancing at the two of them, their heads together as they whispered amongst themselves. In Carol's opinion, they were all pretty, some could even be considered beautiful, so her curiosity was driving her nuts. She leaned in so he could hear what she was about to ask. "Why aren't you interested in anyone here?"

He glanced around, his gaze lingering here and there and then he finally just shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just ain't. Not my type."

She felt her eyebrows raise slightly. "What is your type? It isn't me. An introverted book worm with no friends. And I know that I dress like I bought all my clothes from an old lady's rummage sale. It's my own way of rebelling against the high school status quo." She could make fun of herself and it didn't matter. She liked who she was, even though she did hate being so damn shy. She didn't _really_ care what other people thought of her. At least, that's what she told herself every day.

He chewed his lip for a few long moments before his eyes landed on hers. "It ain't got anything to do with how they look. Not really. Every female here is somehow tryin' to outdo the next one. All of them have a point to prove, and it's that they're better than each other. I know every damn one of them and there ain't one of them gives a damn about anybody else, trust me. And I ain't got the damn patience to deal with people like that. Cause hell, the guys here, they ain't no different. Always a competition. Always outdoing each other. My brother is one of the worst ones too. I ain't like that. And you ain't like them. So outta everyone here, I guess if I had to choose a type, it'd be the introverted book worm with no friends that wore old lady clothes."

It was probably the most she had ever heard him say at once and even in the shadows where they stood, she could see the deep flush on his face and knew he almost regretted the words even as he spoke them, but it was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. But the moment was too heavy and he had dropped her hand, clearly embarrassed by his own bold declaration.

"So, you have a thing for sweaters. That's actually really good to know," she said, keeping her face devoid of emotion, not even allowing her lips to twitch in humor. She didn't know what had come over her since stepping foot in the door but she felt comfortable teasing him and it was a really great feeling. "If you want, I can model some for you when you take me home. I wouldn't tell anyone about your fetish, I promise."

He shook his head and grinned before looking at his boots. "I swear if I'd known you were a total smart ass I woulda asked you out a long time ago."

She grinned right back. "So, you're admitting you actually asked me out? You know, for a first date, this is kind of a let down."

"Jesus," he muttered.

Just then Carol looked up and swallowed hard when she saw a familiar face approaching them. Joe Crawford was a bully and an idiot and she had fallen victim to his harsh criticism more times than not over the last few years of high school. She knew he was one of the people that hung around Daryl when Daryl wasn't stuck studying with her, and one of the reasons she had been so terrified that first day she tutored him. She had expected Daryl to be a lot like Joe and had been surprised and relieved to discover that he was nothing like the other boy.

"Oh no," she muttered, unconsciously stepping closer to Daryl, dreading what Joe was going to have to say to her.

"What?" Daryl asked, frowning down at her.

She nodded towards the other boy. "Your friend doesn't exactly like me. Actually he goes out of his way every chance he gets to remind me that he isn't the only one. He's an ass."

"You ain't ever told me he gives you a hard time," Daryl said, scowling hard.

She shrugged. "Would it have mattered? It isn't like we're friends. I tutored you, Daryl. That doesn't mean I looked forward to confiding in you the horrors of my high school life every chance I got."

"You made it, Dixon," Joe grinned, talking to Daryl but letting his eyes roam over her.

She didn't see a spark of recognition in that mean gaze of his but surely he knew who she was.

"Yeah, well, I didn't have much choice now, did I?" Daryl asked, not sounding very friendly at all.

Joe grinned. "Guess not. Looks like you lucked out. Two new rides in one day, huh? Who's the arm candy?" he asked, turning up a beer trying way too hard to look cool.

She felt Daryl stiffen at her side. "You know who she-"

"Carmen," Carol said suddenly, offering the guy her hand. "Nice to meet you..."

"Joe," he said, taking her hand, his fingers lingering on hers. "So, where the hell did you find this jackass, and why the hell haven't me and you hooked up yet?"

Carol smiled, her heart beating so hard that she barely heard his words for the blood pounding behind her ears. He didn't know who she was! "I guess I just haven't gotten around to lowering my standards that far. I'll let you know if it ever happens." She was almost dizzy, unable to believe she had just said those words to one of her worst tormentors.

Joe's smile dropped and so did his hand and a hard familiar glint returned to his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but suddenly glanced at Daryl, who barked out a laugh at the look on his face. When Joe looked back at her their was a threat in his gaze but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

"You got somethin' you wanna say, Joe?" Daryl asked, his voice casual but his own blue eyes sharp and hard.

Joe gave her one more hard stare and then sauntered away. She made a mental note to stay as far away from him as she possibly could. She just couldn't believe that he hadn't even known it was her.

"I can't believe that jerk," she hissed, crossing her arms over her chest. "All these years and he comes over here and actually just hit on me!"

Daryl smiled slightly and grabbed her hand again. "Tell you what," he said as he led her towards the other side of the room, "Let's find my damn brother, let him know I showed up and then get the hell outta here."

She felt her stomach drop. She wasn't exactly having fun considering where they were but she was really enjoying getting to know him and didn't want to stop. He seemed to like. _Her_. The real her, not just because of the way her sister had dressed her up tonight. "Wait," she stopped walking and tightened her grip on his hand, forcing him to stop.

He turned questioning eyes on her.

"We just got here," she said, her voice small in the steady drone of the crowd around them.

He studied her for a few long moments and then shrugged his shoulders. "This ain't your scene, Carol. And it ain't mine either."

She didn't really have an argument for him so she sighed and followed him to wherever he was leading her.

"Hey!"

Her head snapped up as a man approached them, a wide grin on his face as he took them in. He was dressed in black and he had a look in his eye that told even her that this wasn't a man that anyone should mess with. Hopefully he was a friend of Daryl's because she sure as hell didn't want him to be an enemy.

"Little brother," the man said, grinning even wider as he glanced down at her. "Trade up, huh? Ditch the dork and find yourself a firecracker? That's my boy."

"It's the same goddamn girl, dumb ass," Daryl shot back, eyes narrowed on the man.

Oh Jesus, this was his brother. This was the reason she was here and apparently he thought she was a dork.

He let out a low whistle as his eyes raked over her. "I'll tell you what, Sugar Tits, my brother here has a good eye cause I damn sure didn't see a body like that hidin' behind that big ol' bird sweater your ass was wearin' this afternoon."

Carol felt her mouth drop with an audible pop and heard Daryl groan at her side. She didn't know what to say to him. She had never been objectified before and wasn't sure whether to admonish him for being a disgusting pig or feel flattered that he had somehow tried to compliment her appearance. She had never been in this situation before now and had no idea how to proceed.

"Say," he asked, narrowing his eyes and studying her face carefully. He took a step closer, gripped her chin gently and tilted her head up just slightly. All she could do was swallow hard. "Nah..." he shook his head. "You ain't kin to a hot number that goes by the name of Jenny, are you?" he asked.

She felt her eyes widen but she didn't move because he was still gripping her face. "She's my sister," she said, her voice but a breath.

He dropped his hand then eyed his brother before barking out a laugh that startled her.

"What the hell is so funny?" Daryl asked, tension rolling off his frame.

Merle just shook his head and glanced between them. "Let's just say I know from experience. It might take a few tries at first but once that engine gets nice and warm, this girl is liable to go from zero to sixty nine in just a few seconds. I broke in the older one back in high school. Was well worth the wait, trust me. Ain't had a piece that tight before or since."

"Jesus, Merle. You're a real son of a bitch, you know that? Go on somewhere with that shit," Daryl snapped, pulling her past him.

Carol was trying to process Merle's words. Surely her sister hadn't...

Daryl side eyed her when he heard her laughter, turning to face her even though he kept walking backwards, pulling her towards the door. "You think that was funny?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. I just can't imagine my sister... you know. Getting it on with your brother."

He made a face. "Let's go. We ain't even been here thirty minutes and this damn place has already corrupted you."

She followed him out into the still night and instantly felt some of that adrenalin induced bravado leave her. In a room full of people that didn't know her, she almost felt like someone else, but now that it was just the two of them again, and it was obvious that he was ready for their night to be over, that feeling of quiet insignificance reared it's ugly head.

"Sorry about my brother," he said as they fell in step, walking towards the truck. "He can be a real piece of shit sometimes. I don't even think he does it on purpose. It just comes natural. That was him tryin' to be nice, by the way."

She smiled. "It wasn't so bad. I was glad to help tonight. Hopefully he lets you keep that bike you like so much."

He gave her a sideways glance. "You ready to get home?"

She searched his eyes for a second and decided to be honest. "Not really," she said, her voice quiet.

"I am," he said, opening the door and giving her a small shove towards the seat.

She crawled in, her face flaming. He wasn't even going to pretend to want to spend anymore time with her. She stared out the windshield as he backed out of the parking lot. It had taken her all that time to get ready and it was all for a total of forty five minutes with him. She felt like the dork that his brother claimed she was.

"You hungry? I think we got some leftover pizza in the fridge at the house. If not I can swing by a drive through," he said, glancing at her.

She looked over, catching his eye quickly before he turned his own back to the road that stretched out in front of them. "I thought you wanted to go home."

"And I thought you didn't," he countered.

"Oh!" she finally grasped what he was getting at. He wanted to go back to his house but he wanted to bring her with him.

"You ain't gotta-"

"Leftover pizza sounds good," she said quickly, her nerves kicking up a notch at the thought of going to his house with him, alone.

~H~

He didn't know why the hell he had thought to take her to his house. Not that she seemed to be rolling in money herself but Merle was a fucking slob and Daryl wasn't much better. The house wasn't in awful shape but it was a far cry from a nice one. Sitting alone on one of the lesser used back roads the woods nearly devouring it from the back, it was still home. Had been all his life.

"I didn't realize you lived so far out," Carol said as he pulled into the rutted gravel drive.

The headlights illuminated the front of the house but as soon as he cut the engine the darkness gathered around them like a living thing. There weren't any street lights out here and he hadn't thought to leave the porch light on. The sky was overcast so there was no moon. The only illumination came from the dim glow from town a few miles away. He took note of the nervous quality of her voice and was pretty sure that she was probably thinking he'd brought her out here to murder her.

"You sure you don't want me to just take you home?" he asked, not blaming her for her nervousness.

She cleared her throat and though darkness prevailed, he could hear her shifting nervously in her seat. "I really don't want to go home yet, but..."

He waited but she didn't say anything else. "But, what?"

She blew out a breath. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that... I... I'm not here to do anything."

He frowned. "What?"

"You know," she muttered. "Mess around with you or anything."

He scowled. Truthfully, if she wanted to mess around, he was all for it, but it wasn't why he brought her here for fucks sake! "You ain't got a very high opinion of me, do you?" he asked, making sure he kept his voice neutral.

"What? No, I do I just thought..."

"How many times did I try to feel you up while we were stuck together for hours three days a week for the last six months?"

"Never! I was... I've never been invited to a guy's house before, that's all!"

"So you thought pizza was code for what?"

"I didn't! I mean-"

He laughed. He should have felt bad for messing with her but he'd never met a more nervous person. She had been okay at the party but now that it was just the two of them she was as jumpy as a rabbit. "You wanna come in or not?"

She grumbled something unintelligible under her breath as he hopped down from the truck. Without thinking twice he reached for her hand, only because it was dark and she'd likely fall over something if he didn't at least lead her to the porch. That's what he told himself anyway.

The house wasn't as bad as it could have been. Just a few empty beer cans on the coffee table and some dirty shirts thrown over the arm of a chair in the corner. It wasn't fancy but him and Merle made due with it. Besides, he knew her well enough by now to know that she wouldn't even consider thinking less of a person just because they weren't well off. Her mind just didn't seem to work that way and it was something he had caught onto back when he had first met her. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much.

She followed him to the kitchen, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she glanced around the room. As much as he enjoyed the change that her sister enforced on her for this fake date, he could tell that she was uncomfortable. She wasn't even really showing much skin but it still seemed to bother her that she couldn't hide anything at the moment.

"Come here," he muttered, walking past her, two cokes balanced on top of the pizza box in his hands as he headed towards the hall and his bedroom beyond. Maybe he was really enjoying the view but he hated how fucking nervous she was and if he could make her feel a little bit better then he would. He owed her. He owed her for all the time she had spent helping him all those months and he owed her for doing him a favor tonight, even though she had been forced way out of her comfort zone to do it.

He hit the light switch with his elbow and sat the box down on his bed before turning to the closet. She hovered in the doorway, eyes wide as she watched him. He didn't comment. He sifted through his clothes until he found what he was after. When he tossed it to her it smacked her in the face and fell to the floor.

She frowned and picked it up and once she realized what it was, she grinned but she couldn't hide the blush on her face. "I'm not that obvious, am I?"

He shrugged like it was no big deal and watched as she pulled the oversized hoodie over her head. It draped over her smaller frame, hitting mid thigh and she grinned at him sheepishly.

"I have issues," she mumbled but already she looked more comfortable.

"Yeah? I ain't noticed."

She laughed at that and the rest of the tension melted away as she sat down on the edge of his bed. "I'm a freak, I know. I have anxiety issues. I have since my parents died and sometimes being able to hide in my own skin makes me feel better."

"Makes sense," he said as he shoved a dvd into the player and turned on the ancient TV that he'd bought second hand.

The rest of the evening they spent with their backs against the headboard, a box of cold pizza between them, watching Jaws and stuffing their faces in companionable silence. He wasn't thrilled about taking her home but knew he had to. She talked a little more on the ride back to her place and they even lingered next to the truck after he had let her out.

"You want your hoodie back?" she asked.

He leaned into the side of the truck and shrugged. "Keep it. I don't ever wear it."

"I had fun. I know I was just doing you a favor but I'm glad I did," she said after another beat of silence.

"So did I. The look on Joe's face was pretty damn great."

She grinned. "Well, if you ever get yourself in another bind, you know where to find me."

He nodded, knowing that if he didn't ask her now then he wouldn't ever ask her and he wouldn't see her again until school started back up. "You wanna do somethin' tomorrow?"

She looked a little surprised at the sudden question. "Do something? Like what?"

"I don't know. Anything cheap I guess, unless you're buyin'."

"Why?" she asked, a frown forming between her eyes.

He sighed. "Do you wanna do somethin' or not?"

She nodded.

"Seven again then?" he asked.

She nodded again.

He repressed a grin and nodded right back. "See ya, _Carmen_."

This earned him another outright laugh. "Bye, Daryl."


	4. Chapter 4

**So far I think there's one more chapter to this, possibly two if you all end up wanting an epilogue or something. I will try to get the next chapter out tomorrow but I can't promise you anything. I'm super sick and a total whining slob that doesn't want to do anything, even something as minimal as type, but I'll try! Hope you all had a good weekend and thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Four**

Carol bounded into the kitchen and had to skid to a stop in her sock clad feet to avoid smacking right into her sister. Jenny raised one eyebrow at her and took a long sip from the cold glass of tea in her hand.

"I thought you were gone again," Jenny said, her voice sounding amused as Carol poured her own glass.

Carol glanced at her sister and then at the clock on the wall. "I can stay home if you want," she said, hoping that her sister had plans of her own.

It had been fifteen days since going on that fake date with Daryl Dixon and it had been fifteen evenings straight that the two of them spent together. He worked at the garage with his brother and sometimes didn't even bother going home to shower before picking her up. Sweaty and grease stained, she never minded because he always had something up his sleeve for them to do.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of getting in the way of young love," Jenny said with a grin.

Carol glared at her as her face flamed. "Shut up. That is not funny."

"Carol, no boy in the history of the world would bother spending so much time with a girl if she was only his friend, which is what you keep claiming to be."

"He isn't my boyfriend. I'm not his girlfriend."

"Has he put any moves on you yet?" Jenny asked, unperturbed.

Carol rolled her eyes and stormed out of the kitchen, glass in hand, ignoring the question. Of course he hadn't put the moves on her. What was that suppose to even mean, anyway? He was a good friend and they actually had fun together. He taught her how to shoot pool, they hung out at his house and watched movies, she had even cooked him dinner a few times. She didn't mind going to garage with him anymore and he never made any remarks about her clothes, even though she _had_ gotten a little more daring, just not like she had that first night. She at least raided her sisters closet for jeans most days.

"You can't hide, little sister," Jenny called from the kitchen.

"The hell I can't," she muttered, slamming her bedroom door behind her. "Put moves on me," she grumbled. "Who even says that?" she sat the glass down on her dresser and looked up at her reflection. Movement behind her had her gasping and she screamed before she could even turn around.

Daryl was lying on her bed, his arms folded behind his head and his feet crossed at the ankles. He grinned at her but then grunted when she threw a paperback at him. It bounced off his stomach and onto the floor.

"You scared me to death!" This wasn't the first time he had climbed through her bedroom window to avoid the jeers from her sister.

"What the hell was you mutterin' about?" he asked, not bothering to even get up.

"What?" she was completely flustered. The truth was, and she would deny it to her sister until she was blue in the face, but she liked him. More than liked him really and it was always a little disconcerting for her to be around him but it wasn't as bad when she had time to prepare herself. Right now, she wasn't prepared and she was having a hard time not staring at him.

"You said something about moves. You always talk to yourself when I'm not around?" he asked.

"Shut up," she muttered, dropping down next to him and folding her hands on her stomach, refusing to acknowledge the fact that what she was really doing was trying to calm the stupid fluttering under her hands. "What are you doing here anyway? You're suppose to be at work."

He sighed, staring up at the ceiling fan. "Left early. It's too damn nice to be stuck in the garage all damn day. It's ninety degrees out there and there's a perfectly good swimming hole in the woods behind my house."

She frowned. "I can't swim."

"I'll buy you a floaty."

She snorted at. "You're just trying to coerce me into putting on a bathing suit," she grumbled.

He raised up on one elbow and stared down at her. "You're gettin' awfully bold, you know that? Accusin' me, the only friend you got, of tryin' to skin you down to your skivvies or some shit."

"You're a teenager. It would be a lot weirder if you weren't trying to get some poor girl in her skivvies."

He laughed. "Yeah, well, the only girl I hang out with is you so it's got my priorities all mixed up. The site of too much shoulder is distracting enough now days. You put on a bathing suit and I might pass right out."

She turned over until she was facing him and gave him a hard shove. He toppled right off the side of the bed, groaning loudly. She hadn't meant to hurt him so she hurried over to peer down at him. "I'm so sorry!"

He stared up at her and then sat up. "I take it that's a no?" he asked, pulling himself up off the floor.

She chewed her lip for a second and then shrugged. The truth was, it was a hot day and after spending so much time with him, she didn't really see any reason why she couldn't go for a swim. She hated to admit it but mostly, she really wouldn't mind getting a view of him without a shirt on. "Will it just be us?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. Merle goes down there every now and then so who knows."

"I hate crowds," she said, taking the hand he offered and letting him pull her up from the bed. "But I think I might hate sweat even more than that."

His brows went up. "You really wanna go?"

"If you do," she answered quickly.

He looked contemplative for a few long seconds and then shook his head. "We can do whatever the hell you want."

"And today I want you to get to do something you want to do for a change so let me go make my obnoxious sister's day and borrow a bathing suit from her."

"You should ask her to come too," he said, glancing at the door.

She frowned. "Why?"

Daryl shrugged. "I don't know. My brother kind of ain't shut his big dumb trap about her since he found out who you were."

"Does he still think I'm your girlfriend?" she asked with a grin.

"Everybody thinks you're my girlfriend. Makes life a lot easier where Merle's concerned. It helps that you're the only person that I can hang out with and not end up wanting to strangle."

"You sure know how to sweet talk a girl, Daryl," she said with an easy smile.

"Workin' on it," he shot back before she slipped out the door.

~H~

Pretending to be going out with a girl that you wanted to go out with was a pain in the ass. He liked spending time with her but for the last few days his mind kept roaming to dangerous territory. He had liked her since the moment he met her but after spending so much time with her he realized that he liked every single fucking minute thing about her. She was funny, quick witted, smart, had good taste in music, seemed to enjoy his company more than anyone else he'd ever met, and he wanted to kiss her so fucking bad he couldn't stand it.

And that was the problem because short of a few flirtatious comments that caused her to turn red faced, she hadn't exactly let on that she felt the same way at all.

At least for the moment he could enjoy the ride to his place. Oddly enough, after the first time she got on it, she became a complete sucker for the bike and he had to admit that he was sucker for the excuse to have her wrapped around him like that. As he pulled into his driveway he wished, just like he did every time the ride was over, that he could go a little further.

He stood up, balancing the bike between his legs while she slid off first, dragging her bag around and rummaging through it.

"This should be fun," she muttered, shoving a beach towel into his hands. "I brought you one just in case."

He looked down at the towel and snorted. "What? You think we ain't got towels around here?"

She waved him away like she was batting at a fly. "Of course I think you have towels but I also think that you and Merle won't wash a load of them until you've used up every one in the house. I wanted to be safe, not sorry."

"We'll probably end up leavin' as soon as we get down there anyhow so it ain't gonna matter much. Not unless we take turns sprayin' each other off with the water hose."

She looked up at that as she struggled with her unruly hair. "What's that suppose to mean? I'm here aren't I?"

He nodded towards the driveway behind her. "Yeah, but you ain't very observant."

She looked over her shoulder and he could see the tension as she took in the other cars parked behind Daryl's truck. "Crap," she mumbled, almost under her breath.

"We'll just find somethin' else to do like I said. It ain't a big deal," he said easily. It was the truth. Sure, it was hot as nine kinds of hell and it was a damn good day to go but it wasn't like it was the only thing they could do. With everyone here it meant that he wasn't the only one that closed shop early so the garage was empty. "We can go shoot pool or somethin'."

She stared at him for a few long moments and then grabbed his sunglasses right off his face. He didn't even have time to react before she quickly reached up and kissed his jaw. "You always do this and I love you for it, but I need to learn how to stop being this way. So what if there's people down there, right? I've spent the last two weeks with you and before I barely spoke to anyone but my sister and my teachers. I had my nose shoved into a book all the time and I avoided every little thing that made me uncomfortable. But that isn't how the world works. Some day you're probably gonna move away, or maybe I'll move away or you'll find a girlfriend that wont want me hanging around and I'm not willing to go back to being alone all the time."

He shook his head. "I ain't goin' anywhere," he mumbled, flushing for no good goddamn reason at all. "I like you the way you are."

She smiled and for one heart stopping moment he thought she might kiss him again. Sure, it was just on the face but he'd take what he could get. She sighed heavily. "But I don't."

He frowned but she ignored it, looking past him towards the trees.

She shoved past him, refusing to let him dwell on what she had said. He wanted to say something about it but there wasn't anything he could say so he simply followed her up the porch steps and through his front door.

Just like he expected, the house was empty, meaning that Merle and his Motley Crew were down in the woods, making what would have been a fine damn time something to stress about. Leave it to Merle.

"Let me guess, today is the day I get to see you in one of them fancy little speedos, right?" She asked, dropping into the only chair that sat in the corner of the living room. She smiled up at him, batting her eyes.

He scowled. "I liked you a lot better when you weren't such an asshole."

"Is that a no?" she asked, raising her brows.

He shook his head, gave her the finger and then took off down the hall to his room. It was a lie and he knew it because he enjoyed those moments where her guard was down and she forgot to be so goddamn insecure around him. He would take her teasing over the quiet Carol any day. When she was quiet it meant that she was over thinking and that was never a good thing.

He snatched a pair of cut off camouflage pants and a threadbare band shirt that at one time had an image of Motorhead on the front but now it mostly looked like some sort of faded blob. He didn't give a damn though. It was still his favorite shirt, even though the sleeves were cut so severely that it no longer even covered his sides properly.

He made his way back down the hall and found her staring out the front window. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard him and then raised a brow.

"You look like a roadie," she grinned.

"You still look like an asshole," he countered. "You ready?"

She followed him out and they fell in step, walking into the woods down a well worn path that had been on the property before he was even thought of. Carol was quiet but that was nothing new. He liked it that way sometimes. A little ways further and that quiet was broken by a feminine scream followed by loud obnoxious laughter. Carol stopped in her tracks, grabbing his forearm with both her hands.

He glanced down and smirked as her wide eyes met his. "They ain't down there killin' anybody if that's what you're worried about."

"I didn't know there were gonna be girls down there," she said, glancing down the path.

He chuckled. "You gotta learn, where there's Merle, there's chicks. You ready to chicken out yet?" He wagged his eyebrows.

She glared but loosened her hold on his arm, sliding one hand down until her fingers were threaded through his. "Let's go, loverboy. If your brother is down there then I'm back on girlfriend duty."

He could have told her that the party was over, the bike was his and if she wanted they could just tell Merle that it hadn't worked out, but he wasn't a fucking idiot. As long as she wanted to play, he'd play. They started walking again but he could feel how tense she was.

"You know, we've spent every evening together for the past two weeks," she said with an air of forced casualness.

He glanced at her. "Yeah, so?"

"And when your brother is around, we're suppose to act like we're dating, right?"

He shrugged, wondering what the hell she was getting at. "Not if you don't want to," he admitted reluctantly.

She was looking at the ground in front of them. "I do want to but I was..."

"You were what?" he pressed, noticing that they were slowing down.

"Well, have you ever considered actually... I don't know. Dating?"

His brows went up and he stopped. "What? You?"

"I... No, of course not _me_ ," she said quickly, shaking her head but the deep flush on her face told him otherwise. "I just meant that-"

He actually had thought about that a lot but he hadn't ever thought anything would come of it and he sure as shit wasn't going to bring it up. Rejection was a mother fucker and his own self esteem was only a little bit better than hers. He finally shrugged nonchalantly. "What'd you mean then?" he pressed.

"Nothing," she muttered, trying to start walking again. She didn't get far because his feet were planted on the path and his grip on her hand hadn't let up, even though hers had.

"You wanna be wined and dined, huh? Gettin' sick of burger joints and dirty garage pool?"

She scowled at him. "I wasn't even talking about me!"

He flashed her a grin. "Yeah you were." He hoped she was at least or he was gonna look like a real dumb shit.

"Let's just get down there okay? It's hot out here."

He had to say something because his opportunity was about to slip away but he wasn't sure what to say.

"Daryl?" she tugged at his hand to get him moving.

"It is kinda stupid, right? Acting? We're always doin' shit together anyway."

"What?"

Now it was his turn to get all fucking flustered. Why the hell had he thought it would be amusing to give her shit? "Nothin'. Let's go." He didn't get far before he realized now it was her with her feet planted firmly on the path, unmoving as she eyed him.

"What were getting at?"

He shrugged.

"Do you want to..." she couldn't even spit out the question.

He nodded because his words were sticking to the roof of his mouth.

"Oh... Okay."

"Can we go now?" he asked, feeling like shifting on his feet.

"Yeah," she said and fell in step once again.

Another couple of feet and the path widened out and she stopped in her tracks so fast that he almost tripped. There were bikes parked haphazardly throughout the small clearing, which he hadn't considered. The few cars in the driveway made him think that the crowd here wouldn't be so big but he was wrong. There were a lot of people down there.

"Well, shit," she muttered under her breath. "There's kids from school here."

"You wanna make a run for it or are we doing this?" he asked, unsure what she would decide to do now.

She raised her chin and started walking towards the crowd. He hid a grin and then threw his hand up at his brother who just turned and noticed them walking down. There was a bikini clad blond hanging off his arm, which was typical.

Carol leaned into his side a little. "I can't believe my whole purpose for us hanging out that first night was to keep girls like that away from you. You're definitely a strange guy."

He laughed. "Strange, huh? Maybe you're right, but not as strange as the rash my brother had on his balls last month. No thanks."

Carol's mouth dropped open at that but she didn't have a chance to say anything before Joe made his appearance. Daryl hadn't seen the guy since the night of the party and he could tell by the mean glint in his eyes as he studied Carol that he knew exactly who she was now.

"Dixon," Joe said when he finally stopped in front of them.

"Joe," Daryl greeted, his voice hard. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Joe's shit today. He led her closer to the water and then veered off, stopping a short distance away from the rest of the crowd, feeling like he needed to shield her from the rest of them.

"You look more nervous than I do," she said, looking up and meeting his eyes as he leaned his back against the tree.

He rolled his eyes and stared over her head as one of Merle's buddies put his foot in the loop on the rope swing and pushed off the tree, arching over the water before letting go and doing a poor imitation of a cannon ball.

"Well, we might as well do it," she said, drawing his attention back to her as she worked her jeans down her legs.

He had noticed a significant change in her since the two of them started spending so much time together but he would have never believed that she had it in her to strip right there in front of him. But as she crossed her arms in front of her and quickly pulled off the oversized shirt she was wearing, he sure as hell didn't have a choice but to believe it.

"Wouldn't you know it, my sister is beneath a one piece so I'm stuck with this," she muttered, looking down at herself.

"Yeah, that's a real shame," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice as his eyes trailed down, roaming over the taut flat planes of her stomach. It was simply that. Nothing but a two piece bathing suit and compared to the scraps that most of the other girls were wearing it was goddamn modest but that didn't matter because the other girls here weren't her and he'd meant what he had told her earlier. She wasn't one to show off her body so he'd been stuck using his imagination for a few weeks now and this... well, it was little bit overwhelming.

"What are you staring at?" she asked defensively.

Reluctantly he leveled his gaze onto hers and shrugged. "Nothin'."

She raised her brows at him. "Why is your face so red?" she asked.

"Why is yours?" he countered, sounding defensive himself and feeling his ears start to burn.

"Because I'm standing here mostly naked. What's your excuse?"

"Cause you're standin' there mostly naked," he said, catching her off guard.

She blew a strand of hair out of her face and rolled her eyes but he could see that she was trying to fight a smile. "Okay, lets get in."

He gestured towards the water and gave her shoulder a gentle shove. "After you."

She gave him another one of those half shocked looks but finally turned and headed down the slight incline towards the water. The rest of the group were further down near the rope swing and the music someone had turned up.

He chased away questions about how their mutual agreement back there on the path was going to possibly change things between them. Right now he just wanted to have some fun with her before the inevitable worry started trickling in on him.


	5. Chapter 5

**This should have been the last chapter. I honestly don't know what the hell I'm doing with this story anymore so I'm just gonna free style and see where it ends up. All I can do is ruin it, right? Lol Anyway, so, a few more chapters, one more chapter, ten more chapters. I have no idea. Hope you enjoy it regardless of where it goes. Have a good weekend and thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Five**

She turned to face him once she was waist deep and was startled to see how close he was. He had shed his shirt but she forced her eyes to stay trained on his face. He was smirking at her as she backed away, an amused gleam in his eye that she didn't trust one bit.

"What?" she asked, wading backwards until the water was lapping just below her chest.

"Nothin'," he said, but he kept his proximity close, not letting her get out of arms reach.

She opened her mouth to say something else but closed it quickly when she took one more step back and realized that there was nothing under her feet. She went under, panic clawing at her throat but before she could even make one fruitless attempt to get back to the surface a pair of hands gripped her waist and lifted her out of the water.

She sputtered, blinking water out of her eyes and even though she knew she wasn't drowning, that panic still had her heart in a vice. She scrambled and gasped, her hands gripping the first thing they came into contact with, which happened to be a pair of broad shoulders and she used them for leverage to haul herself up even further.

"Shit, I forgot you said you couldn't swim," he said as she struggled to hang onto him, needing to get her body out of the water as much as she could. Her arms were all the way around his neck now and she glared at him hard.

"That was a horrible thing to do!" she spat, letting go of him with one arm just long enough to swipe water from her face. "You almost let me drown!

His eyes widened. "I got you right out!" he was still gripping her waist under the water but she wasn't even thinking about that at the moment.

"You should have warned me I was about to step off a damn ledge! I know you knew it was there!"

He snorted and to her great horror he took a step right towards the drop off and he still had a hold of her.

"What are you doing!" she almost yelled, holding onto him even tighter. To her absolute horror he stepped right off the edge, hauling her up as he did so. Instinct had her wrapping her legs around him. It took her a few long second to realize that, though water was now up to his neck, he was simply standing there, waiting for her to calm down.

"You okay now, spazz?" he asked, raising one eyebrow at her.

She wanted to slap him for scaring her like that. She tried to push away from him but he wrapped an arm around her and held her still.

"About three feet away and it drops off again, except you'll actually be over your head instead of just thinkin' you are. Might as well stick with me." He wasn't even trying to hide the grin.

She glared. "That was mean."

"I'm sorry," he said but the slight upturn of his lips told her that he wasn't very sorry at all.

"Sure you are," she grumbled, glancing around to see who got a good look at her panicking like an idiot in water that wasn't even over her head. She was lucky because they were far enough away not to draw any attention from the others.

"You outta know by now that I wouldn't let nothin' happen to you. You're just dramatic."

It took her a second to calm her pounding heart but then she looked up, meeting his eyes and realized that she was completely wrapped around him, the warmth from his stomach pressing against hers driving the chill of the water away. His arms were around her and she was finally able to process the feel of his fingers barely tracing patterns into the bare skin of her back. She had never been in a situation like this before in her life and she couldn't escape and she couldn't hide from the intense feelings that were suddenly consuming her.

"You ready to do it?" he asked, searching her eyes.

Her jaw dropped. Sure they had loosely agreed to officially start dating and she was currently clinging to him like her life depended on it but she sure as hell wasn't ready to just... "Do it?"

He nodded. "Learn how to swim?"

"Right! Swim."

His brows came down in a frown. "What'd you..." His expression cleared and he grinned again.

"What?" she asked, wishing she knew how to swim already so she could go ahead and slink away.

"Where the hell did your head go, pervert?" he asked still grinning at her.

"Shut your mouth, Dixon. I wasn't thinking about that."

"Sure you wasn't."

"I wasn't," she grumbled, struggling to untangle her legs from around his waist. It wasn't easy since he suddenly had both arms wrapped around her, holding her steady. She gave up and glared at him, her face flaming.

"What I meant was, you wanna learn how to swim now?" he asked, trying and failing, to look innocent.

Actually, there were other lessons she was sure he could have given her that would be a lot more interesting than learning to swim but she wasn't about to say anything like that. Instead she shrugged, ducking her head to hide the blush on her face as she reluctantly unwound her legs from around his waist.

~H~

He hadn't been ready to let her go but had known that it was the smart thing to do. It wasn't like he could have spent the whole afternoon with her wrapped around him like that and if they had spent it like that, they could have gotten a lot more done in his bedroom rather than out here in front of God and everyone else.

Not that he planned on doing any shit like that. Well... not unless she actually brought it up, which he knew she wouldn't. Besides, neither one of them had ever actually done anything like that before so there was no reason in trying to speed things up.

The next couple of hours were spent being productive and having as much fun as they could despite the fact that Merle's crowd wasn't far away and they were subjected to witnesses some of them get drunk and act even more stupid than they usually did.

"I think I got it," she said, paddling up next to him where he waited in the deeper water.

"You got the doggy paddling down to a science," he grinned at her.

She shot him a severe look. They had been at it for hours and hours and she was kind of a natural after she stopped doubting herself and assuming he was going to let her die. She relaxed, bringing up her legs and floated on her back in front of him for a few long moments. He was completely distracted by the view so when she kicked water into his face he was caught off guard.

Of guard or not, he was a lot faster than her and he had been swimming here since he had been a kid. He glared at her and dove under as she backstroked away. He swam under her and then turned, pushing himself up from the bottom, rushing towards her. When his arms went around her she screamed and tried to pull away but he had her from behind, dragging her towards the shallow end in case she really did panic and end up drowning them both.

"I'm sorry! I swear," she panted, giving up the fight and leaning her back heavily into his chest once they had their feet on semi solid ground.

He needed to keep his hands to himself and he knew it but damn it was hard to do that when there were so many opportunities in front of him. She turned in his arms once his feet were on the bottom and grinned up at him, her arms winding around his neck again. She was a far cry from the girl he had talked into coming with him weeks ago. She probably didn't see it, but he sure as hell did.

For the first time in his life he thought that maybe, he was actually good for someone. Every small change she had made had been for the better and he took a little pride in knowing that he'd helped her get there, and was still helping her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, the smile on her face still bright.

He cleared his throat and looked down at her lips before he shrugged. "Have you noticed we're the only ones left in the water?"

She peered over his shoulder to where the crowd had all gathered around a low fire. The music was still loud and so were their voices. She met his eyes, searching for something but he had no idea what. "Do you want to go over there?"

He felt his brows try to crawl into his hairline. That was unexpected. "What, you wanna go over there and socialize with a bunch of half drunk idiots?" Surely she didn't really want to go over there and join the others. She probably just assumed he wanted to.

She looked past him again. "I told you that I have to try to get over it. Can't hide forever."

He didn't exactly want to go hang out with the others. He was perfectly fine with just hanging out with her, especially like this, but if she wanted to push her boundaries then who the hell was he to hold her back. "Let's go then," he said, letting go of her and trudging towards the bank.

They both slipped their shirts over their heads but she shoved her jeans back into her bag after toweling her hair off. He didn't comment on her lack of pants since her shirt covered everything anyway. Her steps didn't waver as they made their way towards the crowd of rowdy people hanging out by the fire.

"Well look who decided to join the rest of us," Merle said with a grin before chugging what was probably his tenth beer.

Daryl snorted, his eyes roaming over the rest of them. There were a few coolers scattered about and he wondered if they had brought anything to drink that wasn't alcoholic. He had to take Carol home eventually and the sun was already starting to set. He lucked out and found a bottle of water at the bottom of the cooler and offered it to Carol first. He looked up when she didn't take it and was surprised to find the spot next to him empty. He straightened up, his eyes darting around until they finally landed on her. He felt his eyes widen.

Merle had her tucked into his side, his arm draped over his shoulders as he chatted with a few of the other guys. Carol didn't exactly look comfortable but she at least smiled and spoke when one of them spoke directly to her. She was the one that wanted to try to force herself out of her comfort zones so who was he to try to coddle her?

He unscrewed the water and took a few long drinks.

He was about to make his way over there when Joe's voice suddenly had him looking over. "So, you gonna tell me how you ended up hanging out with _Carol_ of all people? I mean, if you needed hooked up I know a lot of chicks I could hook you up with."

His hand tightened around the bottle and he forced himself to keep his anger in check. Joe was treading dangerous ground but one of the other guy's biggest problems was, he was stone cold stupid. "I ain't hookin' up with her. And if you'd stop bein' a judgmental piece of shit you'd see that she was a better goddamn person than you'll ever be. Keep your damn mouth shut about her, Joe. Cause if you don't, I'm gonna break your goddamn jaw." There, that wasn't so bad. He'd at least warned him. That was more than he would usually give.

Joe glared. "If you wanna waste your time on some nerd bitch, have at it. I was just tryin' to- Ooomph..."

Daryl hit him hard in the stomach and Joe doubled over, the air rushing out of him painfully. He walked away, leaving Joe there to fight to get his breath back, knowing that the guy wasn't stupid enough to try to come after him from behind, and wouldn't even be capable for a while. Carol looked up and then nodded towards the beer in her hand.

"He forced me," she said, the look on her face turning sheepish.

Merle flashed him a toothy grin and winked. "They're more pliable when they're drunk, little brother. Remember that."

Carol flushed, her eyes going wide and Daryl decided then that it was time to get her the hell out of here. He grabbed her free hand and pulled her out from under Merle's heavy arm.

"Thanks for the heads up, Merle," he said dryly.

"Any time," Merle tipped his beer towards them and then turned his attention to a new girl that took Carol's place under his arm.

"My God," Daryl grumbled, tugging her towards the path.

"Why are we leaving?" she asked once the noise of the crowd were behind them. The trees closed in on them once more, bringing a chill to the air. He was ready to get out of his wet clothes.

"Because just cause you feel like being social don't mean I do," he muttered. "And Joe pissed me off."

She made a face and then took a sip of beer, which caused her to make another face. He repressed a smile. "I don't know why he hates me so much."

Daryl shrugged. "He don't. He just likes making people feel like shit. You ain't the only person either so don't feel special."

She was quiet for a while and then she finally shrugged. "It's his loss, right? I'm pretty great once a person gets to know me. You can't go one whole day without seeing me, so..."

He laughed at that, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, gettin' a little full of yourself there, girl."

Once they made it to the house she didn't hesitate before she walked down the hall and straight into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. She tossed her jeans onto the foot of the bed and then plopped down gracelessly, falling to her back and staring up at the ceiling.

"Well," he muttered, dropping down right next to her. "What now? You learned how to swim and you were at least a little bit social. You wanna call it a day?"

She raised up on her elbows and looked down at him, her brow furrowed. "I don't want you losing friendships over me, Daryl. I know you say that you never really liked Joe to begin with, but you don't do anything with anyone at all anymore. I know there were other people that you liked spending time with."

He stared at her for a few long moments before he raised up himself. "If I wanted to hang out with someone else then I'd just drag you with me," he said, wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, I don't want you thinking that I'd ever try to keep you from doing what you want," she said, dropping back down. "Because I never would."

He swallowed, rolling slightly so he was able to look down at her. His pulse kicked up a few notches as his head spun with an idea. Surely it was a stupid idea. She would never go for it, right? "So, whatever I wanna do, I can do, and you're fine with that?"

She met his eyes and nodded. "Of course I am. Even if we do try this whole... dating thing... you're still you and I'm still me and we're both allowed to do what we want, right? I mean, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't mess around with other girls but I think that's just one of those unspoken rules. I guess if you wanted to do that then I wouldn't even be here right now because you never would have asked me to come to that party with you and..." she took a deep breath, her rambling words fading off as she studied his face. Her eyes widened. "Are you about kiss me?" she blurted suddenly, her face flaming.

He nodded, praying he didn't suck at it.

Her gaze slid to his mouth and she almost looked like she was trying to press the back of her head through her mattress. "I've never done that before," she whispered.

He'd already guessed as much. "Me neither."

"You're lying."

He shook his head.

"Okay, no pressure then," she said, swallowing hard.

He grinned at that and it made it easier to actually lean in and do it, since he'd been wanting to do it for a long time now. He probably would have been nervous too but he wasn't. This was Carol and that made things different. He didn't have to worry about anything with her. Not like he did with other people. There were no shows he had to put on. She liked him for him, period. She didn't expect him to be anyone other than who he was.

He felt her warm hand on the side of his face seconds before he bumped her nose with his. His eyes snapped open and he pulled back slightly, embarrassed that he didn't even have the skill to properly get this started. She smiled, seeming to relax since he basically just proved to her that he had no secret tricks he'd learned over the years. It was pretty clear now that he didn't know what the fuck he was doing.

She raised up on her elbows again, snaked her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him forward, his awkward attempt apparently giving her a little courage to make this happen herself. Her lips met his, chaste and hesitant but still his heart just about leaped out of his chest. The hand that wasn't now buried in his hair slid up his side, which was exposed from the gaping hole in his shirt where the sleeve had been. Her hand on his skin is what did it. He had no idea what good kissing protocol was but instinct had him pulling her bottom lip with his teeth and even though it was gentle, she gasped, dropping back down. He followed, though, unwilling to break the kiss just yet. As a matter of fact, he had a lot to learn and they were just getting started.

Her lips parted on a sigh and he felt the tip of her tongue trace the seam of his mouth. He steeled himself for his next move, his own tongue sliding along hers. After that things became a bit of a blur. Somehow, without him even realizing it, they had moved further onto the bed and he was no longer wearing a shirt at all.

"You're getting me wet," she breathed when his mouth left hers to explore the hollow between her collar bones.

He raised up, his heart hammering, unable to believe she'd just said that. And he had no idea what to do with it, either. Was she actually willing to do it? He was Merle's brother after all, spending half of his life getting pointers so he wasn't really worried about messing it up but this was moving damn fast. "What?" he manged to choke out, anticipation and a small measure of nervousness causing him to to almost stutter.

"Wet. Your pants are still wet," she said, staring up at him with wide eyes and lips slightly swollen. The flush on her face caused her skin to almost glow in the dim lamplight.

He realized then that she wasn't exactly talking about his sexual prowess. He was still wearing his soaking wet cut offs and she must have just now realized it. "Oh, right," he managed, rolling away from her and sitting up, snatching his pillow in the process.

She sat up with him, blowing out a heavy breath. "I didn't mean for you to stop."

He raised an eyebrow at her and then stared down at the pillow covering his lap. "Probably time to stop anyhow. I need to change pants."

She smiled at that and he was surprised to see that it was a shy one. "Don't you need to actually get up and find something to change into?"

He flushed. "In a minute."

She shrugged and slid off his bed, snatching her jeans up. "Well I guess these bottoms are as dry as they can be," she said, sliding the jeans up her legs. He watched, sad to see her legs covered up after getting to spend a whole day with them. "What are you grinning at?" she asked.

He shook his head and finally stood up. The sound of voices coming from the living room had him glancing at the door and sighing heavily. "Looks like Merle brought the party here. You wanna go to your place?"

She chewed her lip and his eyes followed the slow drag of her teeth. "Jenny's working the third shift tonight."

He held her gaze for a few long moments, feeling slightly guilty because the first thought that popped into his head is that they would have all night to finish what they started here. He shook the thought because he knew her, and he knew himself, better than that. "You want me to stay?" he asked.

She nodded and looked away. "Yes, I do, but we can't..."

He grinned. "I already know."

She laughed, the sound breathy and almost nervous. "Just making sure."


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I finally figured out an actual plot for this little story. Lol That's always a plus. I'm thinking 10-15 chapters so it still won't be incredibly long. I'm not feeling this chapter at all but it pushes things along. Thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Six**

The summer went by faster than any summer Carol could remember. She hadn't spent her days lazing around on her porch with a book shoved in her face. Not that that was a bad way to spend a summer, but it did get a little boring after a while.

"You look great," Jenny said as she breezed into the kitchen and snatched Carol's coffee right out of her hand.

Carol looked down at herself and shrugged. "Thanks for the clothes."

Jenny waved her off, sitting the cup down and then kissing her cheek before grabbing her bag. "I hate the morning shift," she grumbled, shoving her phone into her purse.

Carol's face reddened but she tried to smile through it. "No one told you that you had to switch your shifts."

Jenny gave her a dry look, hands going to her hips. "If someone would have told me that a year ago, I would have agreed with them. But after coming home early and finding my baby sister in bed with a boy, that was a big fat slap in the face."

Carol groaned. "I've told you a hundred times! We were sleeping!"

Jenny nodded. "I know. I saw you, remember? But you still haven't told me what happened before the sleeping part." She held up a hand, stopping Carol's argument. "I love you. I am happy for you. I'll do anything you need me to do to keep you as happy as you've been this summer, but I will _not_ work night shifts so you can sneak your boyfriend in and sleep with him in this house!"

Carol knew there was nothing that she could do to convince her sister that her and Daryl hadn't had sex. She knew that it looked bad but the two of them had fallen asleep many times watching movies in her room while Jenny was at work but Daryl had always left before they were caught. When she _had_ finally caught them she had been cool about it, as in, as cool as any older sibling with full custody of their younger sister could be after catching a boy in her bed.

"It's still a big fat overreaction," Carol mumbled, sitting down with her toast.

"No it isn't. Even if I did believe that a Dixon was capable of keeping it in his pants, it wouldn't matter. I still would have done the same thing. You need to protect yourself and if I think you aren't, I'll take measures to protect you myself. And if nothing has happened, fine. But it will and when it does you'll not end up a single teenage mother. We are not MTV material."

Carol gaped at her, shaking her head. "Can't you leave?"

Jenny smiled, snatched her keys up from the counter and headed for the back door. "I love you!" she called over her shoulder.

Carol sighed into her now empty coffee mug. "Yeah, I love you too."

She couldn't really fault Jenny for worrying but she did wish that she believed her. At least her sister was happy for her and wasn't trying to control how often and when she got to see Daryl. That would have been hard because they spent almost all of their time together. Her sister was just worried that they were getting way too serious, way too fast.

Carol chewed thoughtfully. In a way her sister was right. Maybe what she shared with Daryl really was way too serious, considering how young they were, but it wasn't anything physical her sister had to worry about. She thought that maybe it wasn't normal for a girl her age to care so much for a guy. But he wasn't just some guy, right? And she wasn't just some girl.

A knock at the front door had her flying out of her chair, nearly causing it to crash to the floor. Daryl no longer used her bedroom window to get in since Jenny thought they were a couple of sex maniacs. He didn't want to do anything to make her any more suspicious. She hurried down the hall and threw the door open, feeling stupid that her stomach and her heart decided to do a couple of somersaults as soon as her eyes landed on him.

He grinned that half grin of his and his head moved past her, down the hall.

"It's safe," she said, moving so he could step past her.

When Jenny had caught him in her bed a few months ago Carol had been sure that he would never come over again. He got enough torment from his own brother, but he hadn't stayed away. And, man, had Jenny let them have it too. She had never seen her sister in such a state, ranting and finger pointing and going on and on about how irresponsible she had been, letting Carol spend most nights alone when she knew there was a boy in her life. It was horrible and the two of them had no choice but to sit there on the edge of Carol's bed and listen to it.

"So, the panty police already leave for work?" he asked, heading straight for the kitchen.

She rolled her eyes. That was Jenny's new name when they were alone. "She left a few minutes ago. Are you dreading today?" she asked, double checking her bag to make sure she had everything she needed.

He shrugged. "It's just another day I guess."

She had been nervous all week about going back to school. Spending the summer with Daryl had done wonders for her self esteem, she rarely ever had to deal with that crushing anxiety that used to plague her more days than not, and she had taken her sister up on the offer of school clothes shopping. This wasn't just another year for her. This was going to be a totally new experience for her. She no longer felt on the fringes of things. She felt like being included. But that didn't mean her classmates, even the ones that had always been nice to her would feel the same.

"It isn't just another day," she said, watching as he picked at the remainder of her breakfast. "It's the first day of our senior year. That's kind of a big deal, ya know?"

He shrugged again, that devil may care look that she knew so well now plastered on his face. "You pulled a few strings, right? Other than those dumb advanced classes you're takin', me and you are in all the same ones. It'll be alright."

"Everyone has probably heard about us by now," she said. She wasn't able to keep her fingers still so she fiddled with the straps of her bag.

He looked up then, meeting her eyes and then searching her face. "You afraid people are gonna accuse you of slummin' all summer?" he asked with a grin.

She scowled at him. "Of course not. I just don't want anyone making fun of you because of me." And she really was worried about that. Everyone knew she was a huge nerd and they didn't exactly go out of their way to keep her from knowing that that was exactly how they saw her.

He shook his head. "You're the only person that still sees that, you know. I never really saw it in the first place."

She smiled at that. "Well, not everyone has the imagination that you obviously have."

He tugged on the strap of her bag until she stumbled into him and then his lips were on hers and her worries evaporated. They were pros at this now, having all summer to practice, but this was as far as it went, even when they were alone in her bed. Not that he didn't push his boundaries, but as soon as she called him out on it, he would stop, grinning sheepishly.

As much as she hated to, she broke the kiss, glanced at the clock and nodded towards the door. "We're gonna be late." Once again, as soon as he stepped out of her space her nerves overtook her again, but there was nothing she could do about that.

~H~

All of her harder classes were earlier so it wasn't likely she would see Daryl before lunch and she hated it. She'd never imagined that she would have such a co-dependent relationship with someone. Well, that wasn't exactly what it was, but it felt like it.

"Hi."

Carol looked over, marking her place with her finger. The girl in the seat next to her had never bothered to speak to her before so Carol had no idea why she was now. She did appreciate actual words, though. Since they pulled up at the school she had gotten plenty of stares but no one had bothered to speak to her. It was like she went from being invisible to being a complete oddity that people could whisper about. But the girl had at least spoken and she realized that she hadn't responded yet and she was making herself look like an even bigger freak.

"Hi," she replied, looking back down at her book.

"You're Carol, right?"

She nodded, not looking up. "Yes. And I think we've been in most the same classes since we started high school. You're Amber." She kept reading, diligently taking notes and ignoring the girl next to her.

"Is it true you started dating Daryl Dixon this summer?"

Carol's hand stilled on the paper and she looked over once more. The girl was turned in her seat, waiting for a reply. "Yes, it is. Why?"

Amber was one of the girls that were openly hostile. She had made fun of Carol every chance she got so why the girl was trying to talk to her now was beyond her. She smiled, pushing her long dark hair away from her face. "Because his brother is known for throwing the best parties. You think you could get me an invite?"

She had to be kidding, right? She shook her head. "I have no control over who Merle invites to his parties, sorry."

That friendly smile fell from the girl's face. "Maybe I'll just ask his little brother then. I'm sure he could pull some strings."

Carol almost smiled at that. She wasn't so out of touch with social cues that she couldn't hear a threat. She nodded. "That's probably the smartest thing you could do. I'm sure he could get you into one those parties." Carol wasn't falling for any bait. She wasn't afraid that Daryl would want this girl, even if she was pretty and popular. It took a lot more than that to reel in a Dixon. Or at least to real in the youngest one.

Amber made a face, obviously disappointed that Carol hadn't shown any fear of her talking to Daryl.

"Find him at lunch," Carol went on, her eyes back on her notes. She felt a little smug and this surprised her.

"Oh, I plan on it."

She grinned down at her paper, imagining the look on Daryl's face when Amber approached him. He was definitely not your average teenage boy. He wasn't impressed with the same things other guys were.

~H~

Daryl slammed his tray down next to her and sat down heavily. "I ever tell you how much I fuckin' hate school? New plan. I'm gonna drop out and you're gonna go be a fucking neurosurgeon or some shit and keep me up. To even the score, I'll fix our cars myself to save you money on mechanic bills."

She raised her brows, trying to fight off a laugh and the fluttering feeling in her stomach at the thought of him actually mapping out some sort of future for them. "I can live with that, but you have to do the cleaning and cooking too and since I'd be working so hard, I'd expect you to do it one of those little black maid costumes. Make it worth my while. By the way," she added, pushing her lunch bag towards him, "I packed for two so you wouldn't have to eat school sludge."

"Deal," he grumbled, picking up the sandwich she had fixed for him.

"It must be bad if you're agreeing to dress in drag."

"I got the legs for it," he muttered around a mouth full of food. He snagged a few of her chips, even though he had his own there right in front of him.

She nodded. "So, why the hate? Did something happen?"

He shook his head. "Nothin' happened but all day long I've been thinkin' that there's a lot of other things I'd rather be doin' than sittin' in this shithole."

"Like what?" she asked, raising a brow.

He shrugged. "You."

She choked on her water and then glared at him. He flashed her a grin that disarmed her for a moment and then the sound of someone clearing their throat had them both looking up. To Carol's delight, Amber was there, taking the seat directly across from Daryl.

"How are you, Daryl?" she asked, not sparing a glance at Carol.

Daryl narrowed his eyes before turning his head to stare at Carol. All she could do was shrug before taking a bite of her sandwich just so she wouldn't laugh. He eyed her for few seconds before looking back at the girl.

Amber batted her eyelashes and Carol swallowed too quickly. Did girls really do that?

"Do I know you?" he asked, not looking the least bit impressed.

She shrugged, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Not exactly but that doesn't mean I can't say hello, does it? We've gone to the same school for a long time now, right?"

He stared at the girl until she started squirming uncomfortably. Amber's gaze flicked to Carol but all Carol could do was give her a knowing smile that had the girl's eyes narrowing.

Carol turned to Daryl then. "She wants to go to one of Merle's parties. I told her I couldn't invite her so she decided to come ask you."

Daryl's brows went up and then he looked back at Amber. "I don't make calls for my brother but the last thing he needs is some prissy ass high school girl showin' up and gettin' him into trouble he won't be able to dig himself out of."

She glared at him before standing up, clearly upset that her little act had no effect on him at all. Carol wasn't surprised, though. She had known exactly how he was going to respond. She stormed off without another word.

"Can you believe that girl?" he grumbled.

Carol nodded. "Yes, I can."

Just then Joe and a few others sat down on the other side of the table, taking Amber's place. He grinned at them. "What's up, losers?" he asked. He had given up being an asshole after Daryl had apparently talked to him over the summer. Carol was sure there was more to it than that but Daryl stayed quiet about it.

"Hi, Joe," Carol muttered, focusing on her lunch. Just because he didn't terrorize her anymore didn't mean that she was okay with him as a person. He was still a complete jackass.

"Rumor is, you two have spent the whole summer getting it on," Joe said with a grin.

Carol felt her face flush. This didn't surprise her in the least, considering that her own sister thought the same thing.

Daryl glared at Joe but Joe only shrugged. "Hey, I didn't start the rumor."

Carol cared. She really did, because she didn't want everyone thinking she had changed that damn much over the summer, or worse, think that her changes were spurred on by a sexual influx. "Who said that?" Carol asked, suddenly not very hungry anymore.

Daryl glanced at her. "Don't worry about it. You know how these fucking vultures are."

Joe grinned. "He's right. Don't worry about it, Carol. Last year you were a nobody and this year you're apparently wild in the sack. I call it a good trade."

Carol gaped. "They're saying I'm wild in the sack?"

Joe nodded and then winced. Apparently Daryl's kick landed.

"Cut it the fuck out, Joe," he warned.

Joe scowled, leaning over and rubbing his shin. "Look, all I know is, Lori told Maggie that she saw you at the doctors office and you and your sister were arguing about what kind of birth control you should be on since she busted you getting the Dixon pound while you two thought she was at work."

Carol's face flamed and she felt Daryl's eyes boring into her.

Joe shrugged. "That's how it started."

"Birth control?" Daryl asked, sounding intrigued.

She looked over sharply. "Really!"

He shrugged. "What? This is the first I'm hearin' of it!"

Joe clucked his tongue. "She's makin' you wrap it anyway, huh? Sore deal, dude."

"Joe, leave," Carol snapped, glaring at him.

Joe snorted and stood up. "Don't shoot the messenger. I didn't have anything to do with this one."

Carol watched him walk away with his friends, a few of which glanced over their shoulder and grinned at her. "This is just fantastic," she muttered, pushing the rest of her lunch away.

"It'll blow over. Shit like this always does. Remember last year when Shane Walsh got caught in the locker room with that German exchange student? He was in there doin' some seriously sick shit and people only talked about that for a few weeks before somethin' else happened and everybody forgot all about it."

She shook her head. "I never heard about that."

He sighed. "You weren't exactly plugged into the gossip network last year. You'll hear all kinds of shit about all kinds of people. Nobody stays on their radar though."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "That's easy for you to say. It's always different for guys. If people think you're getting it on with someone then you're some sort of hero. Someone hears the same thing about a girl and she's automatically deemed a slut."

"You're about the farthest thing from a slut as you can get without being a nun, Carol."

She flushed but forced herself to meet his eyes. "Why were you so interested in the fact that I may or may not be on birth control right now?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

His brows went up. "I don't know. It's an interesting fact is all."

"Jenny just freaks out about us, that's all. She just thinks that since your brother talked his way into her pants that you are talking your way into mine."

He shrugged. "Can't really blame her there. She thinks I'm like Merle."

"But she knows I'm nothing like she was at my age."

"What you should do," he said, as he stood up and pulled her from her seat, "is teach her a lesson."

She snorted at that. "Oh really?" she repressed a grin because she knew where he was heading.

"Yep."

"And how do you think I should teach her a lesson?" She expected him to say that she needed to go ahead and just do it, since she was being accused of doing it anyway.

Shrugging lightly he pulled open the door and followed her through it. "Well, you start acting like her when she was our age, then she'll realize she had it easy."

"Daryl, I've already told you that-"

"Not really act like her. Just let her know how easy she's had it, raising up such an upstanding girl and all. Matter of fact, I ought to do the same damn thing to Merle. Asshole is always goin' on about the shit he used to pull when he was a teenager, like I'm some sort of disappointment. It'll be good for them to know how lucky they are that we ain't a couple of wild ass teens."

She stopped next to his locker and waited for him to grab his books. It really would teach her sister a lesson. She wasn't a bad kid at all and Jenny was forgetting that. "You know what, I'm in. But how do we do it?"

Daryl chewed his lip for a few long moments and then he grinned. "Give me till the end of the day and I'll have somethin' figured out."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Jenny's car was parked in the drive when Carol and Daryl got home from school. This didn't surprise either of them, since Jenny made it a point to be there any time the two of them were. Carol also wasn't allowed to have him in her room unless the door was open, she had a new nine o'clock curfew, she wasn't allowed to spend time t Daryl's unless Merle was home. Like that even mattered.

"You ready?" Daryl asked with a sly grin.

She nodded, staring out the windshield, worrying her lip. "I think so. I just don't know if this is gonna work."

His brows pulled together. "Why wouldn't it?"

Sighing heavily she finally looked at him. "I don't know how to be bad."

He stared at her for a few long moments and then he laughed right at her, causing her frown to turn into a deep scowl.

"It isn't that funny," she muttered, shouldering her door open and hopping down from the truck.

"It kind of is. Most people our age have a hard time playin' by the rules and here you are worried you won't know how to break them." His fingers slipped through hers, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Well, there isn't really anything wrong with being a good kid."

He nodded. "True enough. Just follow my lead in there. You'll only manage to mess it all up."

She rolled her eyes and pushed the door open, calling out to her sister as they stepped into the hall.

Jenny poked her head around the corner, her eyes bright and a smile on her face. "I'm glad you're home. I have amazing news," she gestured for them to follow her and then she pointed to a couple of envelopes sitting on the table.

"What's this?" Carol asked, sitting down and picking up the first one. "Oh!" she gasped, feeling her eyes widen. "This is from Emory. Why would they send me anything now?"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Because you're brilliant and they want you. They wouldn't have sent anything at all if you hadn't been accepted."

Carol's mouth was dry, her eyes as wide as saucers but then she felt Daryl's knee bump into hers. She glanced at him and he winked at her. She wanted to open that envelope so bad that her hands were shaking but she had a point to prove here. She pushed it away and shrugged.

Jenny frowned, her gaze flicking between the two of them. "Open it!"

Carol sighed and drummed her nails on the table. "Well, I've actually been thinking and I don't even know if I really want to go to college, ya know? I mean, all I've ever done is study and study and stress about grades and attendance and all that."

Jenny was so stunned that it looked as though every muscle in her body had gone rigid. "What the hell are you talking about? This is your dream! This has been your dream since you were four years old!"

Daryl leaned back in his chair, feigning boredom. "Look, we've been doin' some serious talking about our future, Jen. What if we want kids within' the next couple of years? She can't take care of babies and go to school full time. Not a school like that. I can't sit at home and do it since I got a job at the shop."

Jenny still stared between them, looking like she may be sick. "What the hell are you talking about, kids! You're going to school!"

Carol nodded. "I'm really gonna think about it."

"No you aren't thinking about it! You're going!"

"I'll be an adult, Jen. I'll make my own decisions about my own future." Jesus, this was so hard. She wanted to rip open the damn letter and jump up and down like a lunatic.

"You will, and you'll make the right damn decision, the decision you made years ago!"

Carol and Daryl shared a look and he seemed to be enjoying himself so much that she almost wanted to laugh. But this was what her sister got for not trusting her. Jenny was luckier than most because Carol had always been such a good kid, and her sister needed a reminder.

"Carol, the other letter is from Vanderbilt for Christ sakes, you seriously need to stop the joke and get serious about this. You're actually scaring me."

Carol felt her heart leap in her chest and Daryl actually grabbed her hand to keep her from snatching the envelope and tearing into it. She cleared her throat. "We have homework to do," she said, standing up quickly and tugging Daryl out of his chair.

"Carol-"

"I told you that I'll think about, Jen. Just chill out. And I already know to keep my bedroom door open."

Again her sister's mouth dropped open and the look on her face was more suited for a woman that had just gotten slapped.

~H~

Daryl felt bad for Jenny and he even felt a little bad for Carol. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. At least not for the sisters. He planned on having as much fun as he wanted with his brother, he just wasn't exactly sure how he was gonna do it.

"Has she talked to you yet?" Daryl asked when Carol climbed up into the cab of the truck.

She slammed the door and shrugged. "She tried but I'm keeping this up. She needs to understand that she had it good. But Jesus Christ, Daryl, if I got into either one of these schools I swear I am gonna have a heart attack. You have no idea how hard it is to get a full ride to a school like either of those, and I'll need a full ride because Jenny doesn't have the money to pay and even the money I get once I turn eighteen that my parents left me wouldn't be enough."

"You didn't even open them yet?" he asked, his eyes widening.

She shook her head. "Nope and I want to so bad."

He laughed, shaking his head as he backed out of the drive. "Damn, when you commit, you commit, huh?"

She nodded firmly. "Now it's your turn. What are you gonna do to your brother?"

"Not sure yet."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," she said with a grin. "We're pretty good at coming up with this stuff on the spot."

He nodded. "Yeah we are."

"You need to get to work on your brother soon and I have an idea what might work on him." She flashed him a wicked smile and he returned it. Once she explained her plan he stared at her incredulously. He couldn't believe it. She was downright diabolical. Sure, he would have to make a few sacrifices himself but it would be well worth it.

~H~

Merle slathered on another layer of mayo for good measure and then started piling the bacon on top of the burger he'd just grilled. The stove was broken so there wasn't a whole lot of options for cooking, but who the hell didn't want to eat bacon cheeseburgers and blackened hot dogs every day? He stuck his head in the back door, still chewing his first bite.

"Soup's on asshole!" He yelled into the house.

He hadn't seen a whole lot of Daryl lately. The kid spent every waking hour with that girl he had snagged at the beginning of summer, which didn't bother him any. The kid had needed to get out, stretch his muscles a bit. Especially the one he hadn't been using up until now. Merle chuckled.

He sat down on one of the mismatched lawn chairs to enjoy the rest of his meal in relative quiet. There was always something going on around here and it was rare he was able to just sit on his ass and relax. Of course, that was all his fault for the most part.

The quiet was broken when he heard the sound of tires crunching on the gravel driveway. He frowned, his eyes narrowing. He didn't know this car and it was rare for someone he didn't know to show up out here. He was about to stand up when the driver's side door opened up and a woman he had never met before stepped out. His brows went up when she turned, bending at the waist to retrieve something from the passenger seat and the short skirt rode up in the back. He was still staring at her as when she straightened, shouldered her purse and then turned.

She had long dark hair, long tanned legs and was wearing a halter top that had his mouth watering. She made her way to the porch, swinging her hips like a pro but when she got to the bottom step his smile faltered.

Fuck.

This was a girl, not a woman. From a distance he hadn't been so sure but now he could see it. She couldn't have been as old as his baby brother. She flashed him what she probably thought was a seductive smile.

"You must be Merle," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"You eighteen?" he asked.

The smile twitched and she cleared her throat. "No, but in a year I'll-"

"Come back in a year then, kid. I'm not going to jail for a piece of ass," he said bluntly, taking a bite of his burger and ignoring her. She wasn't even worth looking at now.

"I... er... I was here to see Daryl. Is he home?"

Merle stopped chewing, looking up sharply, ready to tell this chick to hit the road but then the back door opened up and he nearly choked. There stood his brother, shirtless, still dripping from a shower, and he was grinning at the girl.

"Hey," Daryl said, jerking his head towards the kitchen. "Last door on the right down the hall. I'll be a second, alright?"

The girl, all seductive smiles again, slipped past Daryl and disappeared into the gloom. The boy's eyes followed her for a few moments and then he looked at Merle.

"What in ten hells is goin' on here?" Merle asked, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Daryl shrugged and even though Merle would have sworn the kid was blushing like a school girl, he still flashed Merle a grin that matched his own. It was the kind of grin a man gave when he knew he was about to dive balls deep. Glancing over his shoulder again, checking to see if the girl really was out of ear shot, Daryl stepped out onto the porch.

"You were right," he said, eyeing the driveway.

"Course I was," Merle muttered. "But what was I right about this time?"

Daryl pushed his hair back from his forehead. "I needed to loosen up. All this time I've played the unassuming good guy. Fuck that, brother. You have any idea the kind of nasty shit that girl in there will do?"

Merle gaped at him, dropping his burger onto the plate and trying to reign in his eyeballs since they were about to pop right out of his skull. "Boy, have you lost your mind? Where the hell is Carol?"

Daryl scoffed. "Not here. Had some sort of doctors appointment or something. Hey, as fun as Amber is, the girl kind of gets around. It ain't like it is with Carol. I ain't gotta be careful with Carol, but Amber's a different story, so you got a condom?"

"Did you two break up? You havin' some kind of teenage crisis on me or somethin'?" he asked, unsure why he even cared.

Daryl frowned. "Nah, me and Carol's good."

"Then what the hell are you doin' with that little trollop waitin' for you in your room?" he asked, unable to believe he was having this conversation.

Daryl glanced towards the door. "Look, you were the one always houndin' me about bein' more like you. You always say I need to loosen up and I'm only young once. What's the problem? You gonna give me a damn condom or am I gonna have to risk the clap cause you wanna grow a conscience all of a sudden?"

Merle honestly didn't know what the problem was. The boy was right and he knew it. For years now Merle had pushed and pushed and now Daryl was finally cutting loose. What was wrong with that? "I guess I can't have your dick rottin' off," he muttered, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. He tossed Daryl the condom he'd stashed in there earlier in the week.

"Hey, if Carol shows up, tell her I'm at the garage and I'll call her later, alright?"

Merle grunted and waved him away, that uneasy feeling still gnawing at his gut. The problem was, he actually liked Carol. She was good for his brother and now here Daryl was, about to bang some snatch that Merle didn't even know. It wasn't like Daryl to do some shady shit like this. He was out of his mind for Carol and Merle knew it. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed Daryl so hard to be more like him.

The thought of going inside while Daryl was probably indulging in some reverse cowgirl shit wasn't something he wanted to do so he tossed the rest of his dinner into the waste basket by the door and settled back into his chair, rolling a can of beer in his hand. He kept trying to tell himself that Daryl was just doing what any other guy his age should be doing, but that weird feeling in Merle's gut just wouldn't go away.

It felt a whole lot like guilt and it made him feel a little sick.

~H~

Carol's hands were nearly shaking as they gripped the steering wheel hard. Remembering the look on her sister's face after finally opening the letters, and then realizing that both schools were interested in her would be something she would never forget. Maybe she really should blow off college, move out to L.A. and become a movie star because her acting was Emmy worthy. She had tossed the letters down, shrugged and still refused to let Jenny know that inside she was freaking out so bad she was near the passing out on the floor point.

Jenny had blown her top, yelling, throwing her arms in the air like a mad woman and accusing Carol of letting some infatuation with a boy ruin her whole life.

That had been the hardest thing she had ever done, standing there and defending her relationship and trying to convince her sister that marrying Daryl and starting a family was the best thing that she could do.

Of course she wasn't going to marry Daryl and start a family. Not until after she finished school, if that was even something that was in the cards. They were together and neither of them had any intentions of changing that, but she was going to college and as far as she knew, he was going to trade school and they were going to make it all work.

But Jenny deserved this. Jenny had been the one constantly pushing her to be more outgoing, meet boys, go to parties, have fun. And now her older sister watched her like a hawk, even though carol wasn't doing anything wrong. Most girls her age were already having sex and Daryl hadn't even managed to round third base and still Jenny treated her like she was some sort of tainted lady.

And now it was Merle's turn.

She grinned when she pulled into Daryl's driveway and saw Amber's car. She was interested in seeing how Merle was going to react to her showing up while he thought his brother was in his room sleeping with another girl. Even the thought had Carol shaking her head. It had taken her hours to convince Daryl that this was the way to handle his obnoxious brother.

She parked the car, blinking rapidly and then holding her eyes open until they watered horribly. Taking a deep breath she got out and glanced up at the porch. Merle stood up so fast that his lawn chair folded up on itself and crashed to the porch floor with a clatter. He ran a hand over his face, glanced at the front door with wide eyes and then looked back down at her.

"Hey there, Carol. Daryl, he had to go over to the shop and... He. He ain't here."

Carol slowly approached the porch her eyes on Amber's car before she stopped and looked up at Merle. The man actually flinched at the tears in her eyes and she silently cheered herself on.

"Why is Amber's car here if Daryl is at work?" she asked, forcing her voice to crack at just the right moments. "Please, Merle, don't lie to me."

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I done told you that he's uh... he's at the shop. This car belongs to..." his voice trailed off as he made his slow way down the steps towards her, obviously wishing he were anywhere else right now.

Her face crumpled and she covered it with both hands, hoping that the sobbing wasn't going overboard. Merle wasn't a stupid man and if she overacted he would know it.

"Shit, girl, come on. Suck it up, would ya? I'm serious, okay, he ain't here. I ain't seen him in hours. This girl brought her car here and asked me if I could work on it, okay?"

Damn, Merle was good too. She looked up, her wet eyes locking onto Merle's. "He's in there with her. I know he is," she whispered.

Just then the door opened up and Amber stepped out, her high heels dangling from her fingers. Daryl followed her and then they both stopped in their tracks when they looked up at Carol. Merle spun around and then a string of curses tumbled from his lips before he looked back down at Carol. As soon as Merle's back was turned Daryl and Amber shared a look and they both grinned. Amber met Carol's eyes and winked as she walked down the steps.

Carol was barely able to keep from laughing at poor Merle when she saw the look on his face. She blinked until more tears were running down her face and she gave Merle the most heartbroken pathetic look she could muster. "I knew you were lying," she said, her voice full of anguish. "Why didn't you at least try to talk him out of it? You have no idea what you've let happen."

Merle's face reddened and he watched in silence as Amber sauntered to her car. The girl turned, giving Carol a mean grin. "Looks like the joke's on you, dork." She got in her car and wasted no time hauling ass out of the drive.

Merle's jaw hardened and his eyes took on a dangerous glint and for a beat Carol was actually worried about Daryl.

"Hey," Daryl called, hurrying down the steps. "She just stopped by to borrow a Math book."

Merle gaped at him and then eyed Carol, probably wanting to see if she would believe such a pathetic excuse.

"You're lying," Carol whispered, shaking her head.

Daryl shrugged. "Believe what you want."

"Did you sleep with her?" she asked, a little breathlessly, her hand going to her stomach. Merle's eyes followed the movement and Daryl bit his lip hard to keep from laughing.

"Look, Carol, I like you, okay? You know that. I just think we're too damn young to be too serious, you know? Come on, we're fuckin' teenagers. There's nothin' wrong with havin' some fun." Daryl's gaze flicked from her to Merle and she could tell that he was ready to take off if Merle tried to snatch him up and hit him, which the man looked like he was ready to do.

She kept her hand pressed to her stomach as she shook her head. "Then you should have thought of that before you had your fun with me, Daryl Dixon. Because after this I swear to God you're never gonna see this baby."

Merle made a strangled sound in the back of his throat and the color drained from his face. Before he could say a word Daryl delivered his line.

"Whatever. That kid ain't mine."

Carol shook her head, tears flowing. "How could you say that? You're the only person I've ever been with!"

"How do I know that?" Daryl asked, his voice cold. He was impressive considering that he wasn't sure if he would be able to pull this off.

"You know it's yours!" she yelled.

"Wait just a goddamn minute here!" Merle bellowed, his eyes wide, his face the color of chalk. "You... No," he shook his head like he could dislodge all the information he had just received. "You're not... knocked up. You're too smart to let somethin' like that happen!"

"If she is then somebody else got the job done," Daryl snapped.

Merle spun around, poking his brother in the shoulder so hard Daryl winced. "You shut your stupid mouth! How in the fuck could you let somethin' like this happen!"

Daryl shook his head. "I didn't. You know how girls are, you've been tellin' me all my life. They're only out for themselves and we've got a duty to use'em for whatever we can get out of them. So I got what I wanted and now I'm movin' on and she's tryin' to pin this kid on me cause she's desperate."

Merle actually did take a swing but Daryl was expecting it and was able to dance out of the way. Thankfully Merle didn't pursue him.

"Forget it," Carol snapped. "I can take care of this on my own. I don't want anything to do with either of you ever again."

She turned on her heel and hurried to the car.

"Go after her you fuckin' idiot! You better fix this shit right now," Merle yelled.

"Fuck her. You heard her. She'll handle it on her own," Daryl said, his voice still cold.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Daryl was heading back up the steps, Merle hot on his heels. She got in and heard her phone go off. Glancing at the name she grinned.

"Yeah," she said by way of greeting.

"How was it?" Amber asked.

"You did great. His brother is freaking out," Carol said, pushing the button for the speaker phone as she pulled out.

"It was fun. Well, it was until I had to sit in Daryl's room with him for that last forty five minutes. Your boyfriend isn't very friendly."

Carol laughed. "Yeah, well, it just takes a while for him to warm up to people."

"Right," Amber laughed. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow and don't worry about paying me. I mean it, it was fun. You and Daryl are a trip."

"You sure? I don't mind."

"No, I really had a great time. We should all hang out more often."

Carol's brows went up. "That's unexpected."

There was beat of silence before the other girl spoke again. "Look, I know that I haven't been the nicest person, okay? But you and Daryl are pretty awesome, coming up with such a dirty scheme. I don't know anyone else that could have done it so I'm apologizing for being a bitch and I want the slate wiped clean."

Carol smiled at that. "I'm not one to hold grudges. See you tomorrow."

"Don't forget to take your prenatal vitamins," Amber sing songed, laughing before she hung up.

Carol snorted, wishing she could hear the fit that Merle was surely throwing at the moment. Hopefully Daryl wouldn't show up in her room tonight with a black eye. But the look on Merle's face today told her that he'd learned his lesson. Totally worth it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it took so long to update this! I've been super distracted. This chapter was kind of a prompt so I hope some of you enjoy it. Thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Eight**

Daryl slid the window open and slipped into the dimly lit bedroom as silent as a cat. He'd had a lot of practice since Jenny had caught him sleeping in here. He had been smarter about it lately, staying most of the night, but remembering to set the alarm on Carol's phone so he could be out before Jenny was up.

He usually waited a little later to come over, just to make sure Jenny was sound asleep and wouldn't bust him, but he hadn't been able to stand it anymore. Teaching their asshole siblings a lesson was one thing but he'd never in his life expected to be put in a position where he had to treat someone he cared about so goddamn bad. He'd almost not been able to go through with it but Carol had convinced him that to get to Merle, that's what he needed to do.

Still, it messed his head up a little bit and the only thing he had been able to think about since she had driven away was seeing her again.

She sat up in bed, pushing the blankets down when he grabbed her ankle and gave it a hard shake. "I didn't hear you come in," she whispered sleepily.

He didn't even give her any time to get her bearings. He grabbed her hand and tugged her until she was standing right in front of him and without a word he cupped her face and pulled her forward, his lips meeting hers almost desperately. His arms went around her and a surprised sound bubbled up from her throat, dying suddenly as her lips parted and the kiss deepened. He knew the rules but tested them every time and he knew that he had just a few more seconds before she pulled away, caught her breath and forced that cool composure that she excelled at.

Right on cue she pulled back slightly, meeting his eyes and working on catching her breath. This time she didn't pull away completely though and he marked it as a silent victory. "Did Merle beat you up?" she asked, searching his face.

He shook his head, scowling hard. "No but he wanted to. All these years that son of a bitch has tried to get me to be some kind of miniature version of him and as soon as he thinks it's started he blows his fuckin' top. Amber ain't allowed at the house no more by the way."

She grinned. "That was the whole point though, wasn't it? Show them that we weren't so bad."

"Yeah, well, I'm done. You know how goddamn hard that was? And if Merle knew me at all he'd know I wouldn't ever do that to you. Jesus, I wanted to kick my own ass. And I'm tellin' you now. You're wastin' your time going to college. Your ass needs to go straight to Hollywood cause you can act."

She kissed him again, quickly, and then smiled. "I think we all did a pretty good job."

"Well, it wasn't fun at all. Had to sit in my room for damn near an hour with that stupid girl."

"You could have talked to her," Carol said, eyeing him when his hands slipped up the back of her shirt.

"Oh yeah. Cause that's me. Mr. Conversation."

"She's nice," she said, resting her head on his shoulder instead of pushing his hands away.

"She's a bitch. She only helped us cause you said you'd give her twenty bucks and she'd get to meet my asshole brother. She ain't nice."

"She isn't so bad. Sure, she was but not now."

He grumbled but she was still standing close, he was still tracing patterns onto the skin at the small of her back and he wasn't about to try to argue with her for fear she'd back up.

"I missed you today. That was probably the worst part of this whole thing. It gets lonely without you, even when Jenny's home," she said, keeping her voice quiet so she wouldn't wake her sister.

"Yeah, wasn't much fun for me either. Merle's a screamer. If I have to hear him bringing up how I ain't abandoning his fuckin' nephew one more time I'm gonna get sick."

She leaned back, raising one perfectly arched brow at him. "So, he cares about our future son but never mentioned his future niece, huh?"

Daryl stared at her like she had lost her mind, his stomach tying itself into a knot. "So in Carol's perfect future, me and you got some kids huh?" The thought was kind of weird because that wasn't ever something he had considered before. Not even when he tried to picture what the distant future would be like.

She grinned at him and then shrugged. "We have a long time before we need to talk about things like that."

He let go of her waist, gripped the sides of her face and kissed her forehead quickly before giving her a gentle push towards the bed. "I'm beat. Today was taxing as fuck. Your door locked?" he asked, just like he did every night.

She nodded and then crawled in before grabbing his hand and yanking him down with her. He had barely had time to remove his boots. "I don't know if she'd bother coming in to check up on me anyway. She isn't speaking to me anymore unless you consider her grumbling under her breath speaking, which I don't."

"How long are we gonna let them simmer?" he asked, staring up at the ceiling as she slid next to him, her arm going around his middle.

She smiled, her head going to his chest. "Not long. I think we've probably knocked a few years off their overall lifespan as it is. Why is your shirt still on?" she asked, tugging lightly as the flannel.

"Why is yours?" he countered, hoping she'd drop it. The reason he kept his damn shirt on was because he cared about her. It sounded stupid but if he stripped down to his jeans before getting into her bed, his mind kind of ran away from him and he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep himself in check. As soon as his head would hit the pillow her hands were on him, fingers running lightly over his skin, and he'd have to grind his teeth together and force his thoughts away from her. It was damned inconvenient.

She laughed and then sat up, looking down at him with a mischievous look in her blue eyes. Her hair was mused and her eyes were still heavy with sleep but the smile she gave him was as sultry as he had ever seen before and his pulse kicked up a notch. It actually leaped in his chest when her fingers went to her pajama top and started working the buttons down.

Coming up on his elbows he swallowed hard and forced himself to keep his eyes on hers, even though he wanted to look down, his brain having serious trouble believing what she was doing. Finally, when he knew she was on the last button his eyes slid down and then he scowled.

She grinned down at him and shrugged off the top, revealing a tank top underneath.

He growled, sitting up and grabbing her quickly before she could scoot away, dragging her forward and then rolling until she was pinned beneath him. "Real cute, Carol," he grumbled, staring down at her with narrowed eyes. He had her hands pinned above her head.

The grin widened and she tried to hold back a laugh. "You should have known better, Dixon. It isn't my fault you're easily excited."

She was getting bolder and the teasing was killing him. "Yeah, well, you ain't the only one that can play dirty. Remember that."

She arched a brow. "Oh, really? I think I have a lot more control over my..." her voice trailed away when he shifted slightly, only because he knew that he was probably smashing her but the repositioning put him right between her thighs and her voice trailed off. He hadn't done it intentionally but it seemed that way. She cleared her throat, "Over my, uh..."

His eyebrows shot up at the dazed look that came over her and she wasn't bothering trying to pull her hands free anymore. He realized then that maybe she was bluffing. Maybe, just maybe, she struggled with this just as much as he did and that could be the reason that she was always so quick to put the breaks on.

A few tense moments passed as he tested his restraint, but finally he couldn't take it anymore and he kissed her, deep and slow, and let go of her hands, because if she wanted to push him away, if that's what she decided to do, he didn't want her to think he'd actually restrain her. But as soon as her hands were free they went to his chest and started opening buttons with a speed that surprised him.

He had only been playing with her, really, when he'd put the two of them in this precarious situation but it was escalating quickly. She kissed him back desperately and every time he moved, even a little, a small sound would escape her and it was driving him out of his mind. He had to break the kiss when she started shoving his shirt away, managing to shrug it off without moving too far away from her and as soon as it was out of the way she gripped the back of his neck and pulled him back down.

After all these months of her careful self control he was shocked that it was crumbling so quickly, and he knew it was crumbling too when he ran his hand up her side, fingers catching the hem of her shirt and she didn't protest. He stopped once he reached her ribcage, knowing that he shouldn't push his luck, knowing that soon she would come to her senses and tell him to stop.

Her skin was hot and smooth under his hands and she didn't try to squirm away from his touch. Instead her legs bent at the knees, her heels digging into the mattress as she pushed up into him. He froze, every instinct in him telling him to push back, telling him to take the risk and push the shirt the rest of the way up, telling him that if he wanted it, this was it. He could have it.

But he didn't. His hand slid out of her shirt and he broke the kiss, staring down at her with wide eyes as he worked on catching his breath. She stared right back, boldly holding his gaze, her lips slightly swollen and parted as her chest heaved. She looked wild, her inhibitions all but gone and he tried to reconcile this wild girl with the one he had begun the summer with. The one that blushed often, who had never truly opened up, not even to him. It was like day and night.

He grunted when she dragged his face back down to hers, digging her heels into the bed again and his own inhibitions crumbled when her teeth sank into his bottom lip, pulling slightly. His mouth moved from hers, trailing down her jaw as she clung to his shoulders, not stopping until he reached the long pale column of her throat. His teeth sank into the sensitive skin there, causing a gasp to escape her that ended in a moan.

He wanted to hear it again, the sound winding through his bloodstream like fire, and he decided right then that he'd gladly spend the rest of his life being the reason for that airy little sound. His head dipped lower, his lips pressing against the space between her collar bones. A small part of him understood Merle's fascination with the female body now. It really was an amazing thing, but unlike Merle, one of the reasons he appreciated this moment the most was because everywhere his lips touched her, he knew that it was only him that had ever been there. And that was something a person like Merle wouldn't be able to appreciate.

~H~

She knew that in some ways this was very wrong. She never should have let things get this far out of hand, but she had never felt more excitement in her life. Her heart almost sang and her body felt like a live wire, like she had been asleep her whole life and was just now starting to rouse. His lips were hot, almost feverish against her skin and his body fit against hers perfectly.

Her face flushed even more when he had to readjust himself over her again and she knew that he was having problems of his own. The evidence was clear right there against her and fear spiked the adrenalin pounding through her veins.

His hands started lifting her shirt again and she squirmed, seeking that friction and smiling slightly when he groaned as if in pain. Suddenly he was moving, sliding down until she felt his lips pressing against the taught skin of her stomach, his teeth nipping and causing her muscles there to jerk in response.

She needed to tell him to stop, that the reason she was so outraged by her sisters accusations was because they were completely unfounded, that maybe neither one of them were ready to plunge right in. She knew those were all things that needed to be voiced but she wasn't able to voice them at all.

"Fuck!" he hissed, his head coming up, his eyes wide. He raised up on his knees.

"What?" she was having trouble catching her breath.

"Merle," he growled, crawling off of her and standing up.

She went up on her elbows and now that the blood wasn't pounding behind her ears she could hear the distinct rumble of Merle Dixon's motorcycle. She launched herself off of the bed, pushing her shirt back down and shoving him towards the window before he could even lace his boots up. "Why would he come here? In the middle of the night? My sister is gonna kill me! Not to mention what she's gonna do to you."

He shoved the window up just as the bike's rumble shut off. "Don't forget to unlock your door. Just say you ain't seen me," he said quickly.

She caught his eye in the moonlight and blushed furiously before kissing him one last time before pushing him away. Once he was out she shut the window and turned the latches, dashed to her door to unlock it and then dove into bed just as the sound of someone pounding on the door hit her ears. Pulling the blanket up to her neck she rolled over, facing the wall, her heart hammering in her chest as she tried to control her breathing.

Jenny stomped down the hall, grumbling to herself and Carol could have sworn she heard her sister mutter Merle's name. The town was small, and everyone knew everyone else, and Jenny had obviously recognized the sound of Merle's bike. Carol silently prayed that Merle wasn't here to tell her sister about what he thought he had learned earlier in the day. If Jenny thought she was pregnant she would kill her. She would string her up by her feet. Jesus, Merle couldn't tell her that!

She waited, listening to the voices but they were too low to make out. Eventually, her stomach twisting painfully, she heard footsteps coming towards her room. She closed her eyes, controlled her breathing and waited for Jenny to storm in like a human tornado. The door clicked open quietly and she waited as the light came on.

"See," Jenny hissed. "He isn't here." Her voice was hushed, like she didn't want to wake Carol up. She crossed the room. "The window's locked and my sister is asleep. I don't know where your bother is but I'd sure like to find out myself."

Carol rolled over and sat up, blinking against the glare of the overhead light Jenny had turned on. At least she didn't have to fake that part. Her eyes really weren't adjusted to the glare. "What's going on?" she asked, looking from Jenny to Merle, forcing her voice to sound sleepy and confused.

Merle eyed her. "Lookin' for my brother. You seen him tonight?" he asked.

Carol shook her head and had to look away. This was it. Merle was going to spill the beans right here and now.

Merle swiped a hand over his face. "Yeah, I was afraid of that," he muttered.

Jenny scowled. "You were concerned that he _wasn't_ here? Are you telling me that you were hoping to find him in my sisters room?" Jenny was outraged.

"Yeah, I was. It'd mean that they were back together anyway and I wouldn't have to fuckin' worry about him anymore," Merle snapped back.

"Back together?" Jenny shot Carol a concerned look.

"She didn't tell you?" Merle asked

"Tell me what?" Jenny nearly growled the words out and Carol braced herself. This was it. After this her sister would think that she was actually sleeping with Daryl.

"That my idiot brother cheated on her? That she caught him red handed today at the house."

Carol had never seen her sister look so angry before. It was shocking, really. Her cold eyes landed on Carol then. "And you didn't think to tell me about this over dinner tonight? You acted like you had a great day? What is wrong with you? And ignoring college? Over a boy that would do something like that to you? Where the hell is he?" she growled, her gaze flicking back to Merle.

Merle rolled his eyes. "If I knew do you think I'd be here lookin' for him?" He looked over at Carol now, his eyes narrowing. "And what the hell does she mean you acted like you were havin' a great day? You left my damn house cryin' all over yourself!"

"You were crying?"

Carol never considered the thought of Merle and Jenny actually talking about any of this.

Merle cut in. "And what the hell is she talkin' about, ignorin' college?"

"Don't worry about her," Jenny nearly yelled, "You worry about that brother of yours!"

Merle glared. "The only goddamn thing I'm worried about here is the baby! I'd think you'd care more about that than her education right now. Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Oh God," Carol breathed, clutching the blanket. The room had grown completely silent as the blood seemed to drain from her sister's face.

"What are you talking about?" Jenny whispered, like she couldn't voice the question any louder out of fear of what the answer was going to be.

Merle swung his head around towards Carol. "You haven't even told her yet?" He looked disbelieving.

"Oh no," Jenny shook her head, her eyes wide. "No, no, no. She can't be... Are you?"

Carol held her hands up, wishing that her and Daryl had never came up with such a stupid plan to torment their siblings. "I'm not. I'm not pregnant, Daryl never did anything with that other girl and I have every intention of going to school, okay?"

Merle and Jenny shared a look but neither of them looked as though they believed her at all.

"First thing in the morning we're taking you to the clinic to find out how far along you are. In a few months you'll be eighteen and you get the money that mom and dad left for you and you can use it to pay for the doctor's bills. Merle and I can sit down and discuss visitation for Daryl but I don't want to see him step foot on this property again."

Carol gaped at her but before she could say anything at all, Merle and Jenny stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

"Oh my God!" Carol hissed, jumping from the bed and grabbing her phone. She knew he wouldn't be home yet but she had to try to get a hold of him now. This was getting way out of hand.

~H~

Merle stepped out onto the porch and pulled Jenny out with him.

"You think it worked?" He asked.

Jenny grinned up at him. "Did you see the look on her face?"

He chuckled. "Poor kid. I almost feel sorry for them. Almost."

Jenny nodded, sighing. "Yeah, well, it serves them both right. Did they forget who they were dealing with or what? They're both smart, I'll give them that, but they're also arrogant. Smart or not, you and I are a lot more devious than they are."

Merle caught her eye and winked. "Yeah, no shit. By the time we're finished they'll both wish they had just stuck to what they're good at. Which is bein' the good versions of the two of us."

Jenny laughed, grabbed his jacket and pulled him forward. "I'm glad you called me," she said. "If you hadn't then their little plan may have actually worked."

He flashed her a grin and then kissed her hard, knowing she wouldn't resist it. It had been a long time but he'd never stopped wanting her and she knew it. He would have to remember to thank his brother later for being an idiot and giving him a reason to see her.

~H~

Daryl slipped back around the side of the house, unable to believe what he had just heard. "Those sneaky sons of bitches," he grumbled before tapping on Carol's window. He knew she'd be in there losing her mind. He had stuck around to hear what was being said and something had told him to go around to the front instead of slipping into the alley behind the house.

He should have known that he couldn't go up again his brother when it came to stuff like this. Merle was a damn master at fucking with people and, apparently, Jenny was just as good.

Carol shoved the window open and stared out at him with wide eyes but before she could say anything he grinned.

"Change of plans," he whispered before he tugged on her hand until she climbed out.


	9. Chapter 9

**I seriously have no idea what I'm doing with this story anymore and it shows. Lol This is bad but I had to write something for this to try to get me back in the groove so I'm apologizing in advance here. Sorry for the wait! Thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Nine**

Carol made a face as soon as her feet touched the wet grass. The last thing she needed was for her sister to catch her sneaking out of her room and it said a lot about their relationship that Daryl didn't have to say very much to get her to come out in the first place.

She looked up at him, her eyes asking the questions she was unable to voice at the moment.

He grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling her around the side of the house.

"Daryl, this is a really bad idea. Merle managed to convince my sister that-"

He put his finger to his lips. "They're fuckin' with us," he whispered.

She blinked up at him, frowning hard. "No, they were just in my room and my sister is insisting I go to the doctor and-"

"Come on," he said, pulling her the rest of the way around the house. She glanced over her shoulder, sure that her sister would suddenly materialize out thin air, but the back yard stayed empty. When she faced forward once more she suddenly worried that Daryl had the bright idea of sneaking off and continuing on with what they had been doing back in her bedroom, which she wouldn't really object to, and this worried her.

He slowed down right before they reached the corner of the house and then he smiled again. "Sneaky assholes," he whispered and then jerked his head towards the porch. "Take a look."

She put her back to the wall and glanced around the corner, between the slats in the porch railing. Her mouth dropped open and she had to force herself not to scream out loud. Merle was sitting in one of the chairs, Jenny in his lap, his hands on her ass and they were making out. She looked up and Daryl was shaking his head, his eyes narrowed on their siblings. He grabbed her hand and pulled her around the side of porch, still as silent as a couple of wraiths. They both crept up the steps without making a sound but Carol couldn't keep her cool any longer.

"What on earth do you two think you're doing?" She shrieked just as Merle's hand slid up the front of her sister's shirt.

Jenny nearly fell completely off Merle's lap, the only thing saving her that particular humiliation was Merle hauling her back up but she was quick to push away from him and stand up, her eyes wide. Merle snorted and leaned back in the chair, folding his arms behind his head and grinning at them.

"What are you doing out here?" Jenny asked, her voice octaves higher than it should have been.

Carol gaped at her and then gestured wildly towards the older Dixon. "Me! Well, it looks like I'm standing here on the porch watching my oh so concerned sister give Merle Dixon a private lap dance! You were just in my room giving me the third degree about responsibility, making me feel like a horrible person for a stupid prank, and then you come out here in front of God and everybody and do... whatever you were about to do, here on the porch!" She couldn't believe her sister!

"Would you keep your voice down?" Jenny hissed, glancing out at the dark and quiet street.

Carol glared. "You two knew that it was just a big joke! You also knew he was in my room when Merle showed up!"

Daryl cursed out loud and Carol could tell by the look on Jenny's face that she had lost the upper hand by admitting that Daryl had been in her room.

"You've been sneaking him into your room?" Jenny asked before she turned on the elder Dixon. "Did you know about this?"

Merle shrugged. "I take a different approach to parenting. I give my brother room to breathe, stretch his wings a little before actually learnin' to fly, if you know what I mean." He actually winked and Carol thought for sure Jenny was going to kick him right in the groin.

"He can stretch whatever he wants, as long as it isn't in my sister bedroom in the middle of the night!"

"Stop being a hypocrite!" Carol snapped, hands on her hips. "You were five seconds away from taking Merle on ride! You... You exhibitionist!"

The porch light came on at the house next door and Jenny made her move. She grabbed Carol by the elbow and marched her to the door. Before she opened it, however, she turned and pointed at Daryl. "Inside, both of you."

"What?" Daryl took a step back, shaking his head. "Nah. I ain't goin' in there so you can scream at me in private, lady."

Merle got up then, giving Daryl a small shove towards the door that Jenny was now hauling Carol through. All in all, it was the most outraged Carol had ever been in her life, but it was also embarrassing because she had basically told on herself. Now Daryl was in trouble too.

Jenny slammed the door and crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, this has gotten completely out of hand. How many nights do you sneak him in?" she asked, her gaze flicking between her and Daryl, who looked like he'd rather be at school at the moment, and that was saying a lot.

Carol scoffed. "This was the first time," she lied easily. So easily, in fact, that she was a little surprised at herself.

Merle chuckled. "He leaves every night. I'm guessin' unless he's really gettin' a piece on the side, which I'm doubting, this is where he ends up. Comes home in the mornin' long enough to shower, change clothes and scarf down his daily dose of Lucky Charms. But if it makes you feel any better, he's too moody. A boy his age wouldn't give me that much attitude if he was getting laid on the regular if you know what I mean."

"Thanks, Merle," Daryl grumbled.

Merle ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Jen, it's been fun but this ain't our scene, alright? We're gonna take off."

Jenny laughed at that but it was a chilling sound. "Not until we talk about this. I have a teenage sister I have to worry about here and-"

Merle cut her off before she could finish. "You have a kid here with more brains than she knows what to do with. I ain't never met a bigger goody two shoes in my whole life, studyin', excelling in everything she does, has a damn future in whatever she decides to pursue. And then I see you tryin' to suffocate her now that she's found somethin' she cares about that don't fit into your little cookie cutter plan for her. Well, I'll tell you what, she's smart enough to know a good thing when she sees one, and that's why she's with my brother. Cause he's just as good as she is, in his own ways.

Carol was shocked that Merle had made a stand for her but Jenny's lips pursed in a thin disapproving line.

"That isn't true," Jenny said defensively.

Merle grinned. "It's true. All this time and you was worried that she wasn't doing the things other girls were doing, but deep down, she was being the person you needed her to be and you were glad of it. Somebody that never gave you any shit and did what you asked when you asked it. Now things ain't quite workin' out like that and you hate it. But what exactly are all these new rules and regulations gettin' you? It's turnin' a good girl into a liar and causin' you undo stress. Me and my brother, as dysfunctional as we are, have a better relationship than that. You should take notes."

"Oh, so, all I have to do is let her make her own rules, have her own curfew and let her spend whatever night she wants with her boyfriend then? And that's the way to teach her responsibility? I see. I'm so glad you were here to enlighten me."

"I think it'd work," Daryl chimed in but he closed him mouth at one narrow eyed glance from Jenny.

Merle shrugged. "Teach her responsibility? You can't teach that girl anything. Look, I wasn't sayin' cut the leash completely but give her some slack. If you don't, she'll keep sneakin' around and she'll feel like she's got a point to prove."

Carol decided then that it was high time she stopped letting Merle stick up for her. "He's right, Jenny. He can't be here unless you're here, you keep tabs on everywhere I go with him and when he is allowed over you hover over me."

"Then tell me, Carol Ann, what the hell do you want me to do?" Jenny seemed like she was at the end of her rope and finally, Carol felt bad for her.

"For you to trust me," she said quietly.

Jenny's features seemed to smooth out, other than a frown between her eyes. She looked down and then shook her head. "I don't know how to do that! I can't let you-"

"I'm not you," Carol said, still holding onto the that calm.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" Jenny asked.

"Burn," Merle said, his voice serious.

Carol shot him a look but when she turned her eyes back on her sister, she was pleading. "I'm not the same person you were when you were my age. I'm not into the kinds of things you were into and Daryl isn't Merle."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "I know that. But I also know what it means to be a seventeen year old."

"You know what it meant for you. Not me. I'm still gonna do everything that I planned on doing. It's just that now, I have someone other than you cheering me on. That isn't a bad thing. And Merle is right about one thing, you trying everything in your power to keep me on a leash, is only making me want to rebel against it, because I know I haven't done anything to deserve it."

"I caught him in your bed," Jenny deadpanned.

"I'm not having sex with him!" She was quickly losing patience but she was tired of this. "Fine," she said, shaking her head. "Keep doing what you're doing, Jenny. Stress yourself out for nothing, treat me like I'm twelve years old for nothing, and let's just keep not trusting each other because it's seriously doing wonders for our relationship." She turned then and stormed out of the room, slamming her door.

Surprisingly enough, a few minutes later she heard Merle and Daryl leave and then Jenny's bedroom door shut quietly across the hall. She tried to put herself in her sister's position but it wasn't easy. And that stupid prank had backfired so horribly that she knew it was the last time she was ever going to try to mess with someone. It just wasn't worth the damn trouble.

~H~

Breakfast was strained to say the least. For once, Daryl wasn't exactly in a huge rush to get to Carol's. After last night it was pretty safe to say that Jenny would likely blow her top if she saw him again. He knew that the two of them had been really close before he'd came along and even though he'd never regret being with Carol, he did regret being the reason that her and her sister didn't get along too well.

"Somebody sneak in here and piss in your Cheerios?" Merle asked before taking an obnoxious slurp from his coffee cup.

Daryl stared down into his bowl of cereal and shrugged dejectedly.

A long drawn out sigh was his reward. "Look, kid. I ain't got no worldly advice for you. Hell, if it'd been me gettin' caught in a girls bed you can bet I'd have been caught with my pants down. Jenny's just worried about her sister and you're the one gonna catch the flack for it. That stunt you all pulled didn't help matters any."

"Yeah, no shit," he muttered.

The thing that bothered him the most was, he wasn't sure if Carol would end up regretting it all. Her life had been pretty okay before him and now she was stressed out and staying in trouble with her sister. He was a complication and it sucked. He didn't want to feel like that. The only time he had ever thought of it like that was last night. He wasn't stupid. He was good for Carol and she was good for him but knowing that didn't much matter when you had someone like Jenny trying to say otherwise. Especially when Jenny had been a part of her life, and played a much more important role than he ever had.

"It'll work out. I'll work on her," Merle said, sounding a little bit concerned.

Daryl finally looked up. "Don't worry about it. What's the worst thing that could happen? If Carol starts thinkin' this whole thing ain't worth the trouble, then I can't exactly blame her."

Merle scowled at that. "Didn't take you for a quitter, little brother."

Daryl scowled right back. "I ain't, but there ain't much I can do about it. Jenny was right, Merle. Carol's goin' far. The only fuckin' place I'm goin' is the nearest garage hiring after I graduate. She-"

"If you say she deserves better than you then I'm gonna break your goddamn jaw, boy. Maybe I got my faults when it comes to bringin' you up proper but I know I didn't raise you to feel like you're little ass is less than anybody else. You got just as much to offer as that damn girl and if her stubborn fuckin' sister don't see that then fuck her."

Daryl's brows were seconds away from crawling under his hairline at Merle's outburst. "That ain't what I was gonna say. Besides, I thought you had a thing for Jenny, anyway?"

Merle stood up and nearly broke the mug that he slammed into the sink. "Here's another lesson for you, brother. Sometimes, no matter how good the pussy is, it ain't worth trouble." With that he stormed out of the kitchen, leaving a stunned Daryl staring after him.

It wasn't that Merle didn't usually stick up for him, because he did when it needed to be done, but this time seemed a little different somehow.

"Great," he grumbled, tossing his bowl into the sink. Like it wasn't bad enough that he was causing crap between Carol and her sister, but now he was fucking shit up between her and his brother. The woman probably seriously hated him at this point. Usually he wouldn't give a damn about what people thought of him but this was different.


	10. Chapter 10

**Just a few more chapters and this is wrapped. Thanks for reading and putting up with my sketchy updating schedule! =)**

 **Chapter Ten**

Jenny was gone to work by the time Carol got up. There wasn't a note propped up by the coffee pot like there used to be when she had to go in for an earlier shift. Carol tried to not let that bother her, stoically pouring her coffee before going through the routine of getting ready for another boring day of school.

She showered, got dressed, gathered up her books and then waited by the window for her ride. Her eyes kept going to the clock and a sick sinking feeling had her shifting on her feet. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him before he left the night before but surely he would be here.

When she only had ten minutes left before the first bell was suppose to ring she shouldered her book bag and hurriedly yanked her bike out of the shed. She had never been tardy in her life and she wasn't planning on breaking that streak. She thought about calling him and asking what the hell he was doing but she refrained.

She wasn't going to be that girl. The one that freaked out and called every time her boyfriend did something uncharacteristic. So what if he wasn't here to pick her up. That didn't mean anything. Maybe he was sick or maybe his alarm hadn't gone off or maybe there had been an emergency. It didn't mean that he didn't want to see her. Of course, if any of that had come up, he could have called and told her so. It wouldn't have been the first time that he was going to be late and had to call to let her know. But he had called, damn it!

She wouldn't stress over it. Maybe last night had just been too stressful and he needed a break. That happened in relationships, right? Not that she would know.

By the time she peddled into the parking lot her stomach was in knots and there was a painful lump in her throat that she couldn't swallow down. The sound of an engine rumbling behind her had her stopping, planting her feet on the ground and glancing hopefully over her shoulder.

Daryl was there, coasting until he was stopped next to her and the smell of the leather jacket he wore seemed to loosen those bands that had tightened around her chest. She offered him a questioning smile but her hands were still sweating. She imagined they looked ridiculous parked beside one another, her on a twenty year old ten speed and him with a black and chrome monster rumbling between his legs.

"I tried to call but my dipshit brother must not have paid the damn phone bill. I tried to catch you before you left."

She swallowed and kept watching him, waiting for him to tell her that he didn't want to see her anymore because her damn sister was too much trouble and he didn't want to deal with it. He wasn't meeting her eyes and her mind went to the worst places it could dredge up.

"Look, I'm ditchin'. I have somethin' I gotta do today but I'll stop by your place later, okay?"

She studied him and then nodded, still feeling uneasy. She could feel eyes on her as other late comers pulled in.

The corner of his mouth turned up when he met her eyes and he leaned over, grabbing her handlebar and yanking her bike closer to his own. Without a word he kissed her, the kind of kiss normally reserved for those nights in her room when they were alone. When he pulled away he came right back, this time pressing his lips to her forehead.

"Can you manage to stay outta trouble without me?" he asked.

She smiled, the tension she had been feeling melting away and was now replaced by a deep longing she didn't quite understand. "Probably not since I'm about to get my first tardy," she said, her voice a little breathy.

He let go of her bike then and straightened up. "I'll see you later."

She should have asked him what he had to do but she couldn't exactly think straight at the moment. He had that affect on her a lot and by the time she thought to try to get any answers, he was in the process of a wide U turn and speeding out of the parking lot.

She rushed but still didn't make it in time, but her relief was so great that she didn't even care.

~H~

Merle banged the hell out of his knuckles again, yelled out a curse and then threw the wrench against the wall. It had been like this all damn morning and he was getting damn sick of it. His head wasn't in the game at all because he was worried about his damn brother.

He did that more than he liked to admit, and he always had. He wasn't very good at expressing it but he loved the fidgety little fucker more than the kid would ever realize and Merle was fiercely proud of him. He had lived through a lot, suffered a lot, but he had come out of it on the other side a stronger man than Merle could have ever hoped he would be. He was smart and loyal. And he deserved better than what he'd been handed in life. He deserved to be allowed to be happy and that damn girl did the trick. She made him happy. When she was around there was a light in the boy's eyes that had always been missing before and an easiness about him, an obvious lack of tension.

And Jenny could possibly fuck all of that up for him and it made Merle see red.

He knew Carol felt the same about his brother. Knew the girl was ass over tea kettle when it came to Daryl, but Jenny had a huge influence when it came to the girl and it made Merle nervous as fuck to think that things could end with them.

He looked up at the clock, the gears in his head turning. It was nearly time for lunch and he wouldn't be able to do anything productive around here until he knew for a fact that his brother and Carol were okay. He couldn't believe how fucking bent out of shape he was getting over his brother's love life, but he was.

He wasn't even going to think about what all of this meant for him and that infuriating fucking sister of Carol's. The only woman he'd never been able to get out of his head turned out to be the one that had the power to hurt his brother, and that left a bad taste in Merle's mouth. He just wished things could be easier.

He hopped up into the cab of the truck without saying a word to the rest of the guys in the parking lot of the garage. He had to set them kids down and have a damn talk or he would worry all fucking day and not get anything done at all. He hit a stop light and grabbed his phone, calling the school ahead so they could give his brother the message to meet him outside for lunch. That was when they informed him that Daryl hadn't shown up.

Without missing a beat he asked if Carol was there and before the secretary could remember that that information likely wasn't suppose to be made public, the woman informed him that she was.

He didn't bother asking them to relay the same message to her and he had no idea where his brother could be other than home. Instead of talking to Carol he was just gonna have to have a chat with her sister, and that wasn't something he was looking forward to doing at all.

~H~

Daryl clutched the paper bag so tightly that his fingers started to cramp. He wasn't sure what the hell he was even doing here but there was no turning back now. He had somehow managed to make a mess of everything and the only two people in the world he loved were the ones suffering for it. So he had to make it right and the only way to do that was to lay it all out in the open.

He was sweating profusely and it had nothing to do with the heat. It was his fucking nerves. He felt nauseated and he wondered for the millionth time why the fuck he thought this was a good idea and why he hadn't talked to Carol about it.

He walked down the sidewalk, feeling very well like someone may feel walking to an execution room, even though there were planters overflowing with an eye catching array of flowers and an impressive fountain bubbling off to the side. Once he made it to the front doors he tried to pull them open but found them locked up tight. He scowled, knowing full well that places like this never closed. He contemplated knocking, or at least peering in to see if anyone was there but he decided against it. This whole trip had been stupid anyway. There wasn't anything he could say to change-

"Young man?"

He turned suddenly and was greeted by a heavy set woman with dark skin and the type of face that put people at ease. She was wearing a pair of lavender scrubs, ultra white shoes and a name tag he couldn't read from here. The same outfit he had seen on Jenny many times. He stood there, shifting from one foot to the other and wishing he hadn't decided to do this.

The woman smiled and stepped out. "Can I help you, sweetheart?" she asked.

The endearment caused his face to flame red and his grip on the bag tightened. "I was lookin' for Jenny. Jenny Mason," he muttered.

The woman frowned. "Oh honey, you are just adorable and in a few years you're gonna be a hell of a heart breaker, but Jenny's a little bit old for you, don't you think?"

Daryl felt his jaw unhinge. "What? No! I just brought her some lunch cause I needed to talk to her. About her sister. I ain't here to... Whatever the hell you think I'm here for!" My God this was fucking mortifying.

The woman's grin returned and she gestured for him to get moving. He followed her inside and he heard the door beep a few seconds after it closed. He turned at the sound.

"It locks automatically. It keeps our residents safe. When you're on your way out just use this keypad and punch in five two five three, hit enter and it'll unlock."

"Thanks," he said, glancing around a lounge area and taking note of how clean everything was. Overstuffed sofas and chairs arranged strategically around a huge flat screen television showing an old black and white movie. The floors were hardwood and gleamed under an array of ceiling fans that spun lazily. He'd expected something totally different.

"I'll show you to the break room but you'll probably have to wait on her a few minutes. Lunch time around here gets hectic when we're short staffed."

Daryl nodded and followed her down a long hallway that curved at the end, past a bustling nurses station and finally to a door at the end of the hall. He slipped inside and the woman disappeared. He glanced around the room and then collapsed into one of the chairs, plopping the take out bag down and sighing heavily. He had no clue what the hell he was suppose to say to this woman but it was high time they talked.

He was never good at this sort of thing. Merle was the talker. He was the one that handled situations, albeit a lot of times, he handled them all wrong. He wasn't sure how long he waited, lost in thought, troubling thoughts wondering if everyone he cared about was destined to be miserable.

"Daryl? Are you okay?"

His head snapped up at the sound of Jenny's concerned voice. She let the door ease shut behind her, her gaze running over him like she expected to find an injury. "Yeah, I'm good. I brought you food but it's likely cold by now," he said in a hurry shoving the bag across the table in her direction.

She frowned. "Why aren't you in school? Is it Carol? Did something happen?" Frantic now, her eyes wide and searching.

He snorted at that. "She's fine. Probably studying a book on how to study harder or some shit. I ditched today."

Now her look turned to one of disapproval but she sat down across from him and started digging into the take out bag. "You shouldn't do things like that, Daryl. Your education is important, but thank you for bringing me lunch. My question is, why would you do that? All things considered," she added dryly.

He looked down, tracing random patterns into the tabletop and wracking his brain, thinking of how best to bring up what needed to be said. Finally he just decided to lay it all out there the only way he knew how. "We needed to talk and I just figured that this was the only place we'd be able to do that without my brother or your sister around."

She chewed, eyeing him expectantly.

He blew out a heavy breath and met her eyes squarely. "Look, I know you don't like me. And I get why and I don't blame you for it. You likely look at me and see bad news but I'm not. If-"

"I don't dislike you, Daryl-"

"If," he went on, unwilling to let her stop him now, "If I thought I was bad for her, or if I thought her bein' with me would hold her back, I'd never talk to her again. I'd change my damn number, I'd go to a different school, hell, I'd leave town completely if I thought for one minute me bein' a part of her life wasn't good for her. But I am good for her. And I'm good _enough_ for her. And the reason I know it is cause I would leave her before messin' up her life, even though that's the worst thing that could happen to me, I'd do it if it meant she'd be better off." He swallowed hard, hoping she was willing to really hear what he was saying.

"I know that you two like-"

"I'm tellin' you that I love her. And whether you like it, or you approve of it, don't make a difference because that ain't somethin' a person can shut off just cause it inconveniences somebody else."

"Daryl-"

"Carol and my brother are the only two people in the world I got, okay? The only two I know that would do anything for me, cause they care, and both of them are miserable and they're miserable because of me."

She frowned. "Because of you?"

He nodded, running a hand through his hair and wishing that he was better at this sort of thing. "Yeah, because of me. If it wasn't for me then you and Carol wouldn't be at odds. It hurts her and it drives me fuckin' crazy cause I know it's my fault. And my brother likes you, and you're the only damn woman he's ever liked in his life but right now he can't stand you and that's because of me too. So I just need some fuckin' help here cause I don't know how to make it right for them, without you giving me somethin' to go on. The only thing you want from me is to stay away from Carol and I won't do that, so there has to be somethin' else. Anything."

He was red faced and silently cursing when he was finally finished with his rant and he could only hope that he hadn't come off as a selfish asshole. But he wouldn't let her keep him away from Carol and he needed to let her know that that was one thing he wouldn't budge on. If that made him selfish, so be it.

Finally she looked up at him, imploring, her face giving nothing of her thoughts away. "I don't know what I'm doing," she said, her voice barely carrying across the table. "And you have to understand that that is terrifying."

He didn't say anything to that.

"Carol's always been different and I used to worry about that all the time. She never went out and she never talked about her friends, I guess because she never had any. I guess people couldn't see past the fact that she was just different. No one bothered to get to know her and I always blamed her for that. For never trying to fit in. I know I was wrong. But despite being worried, I knew how to handle her. I knew what I was up against when it came to her and it's always been so easy. Now she has you and I'm at a complete loss."

He chewed his lip. "She's still her."

Jenny shook her head but her smile turned genuine. "She's not and we both know it. You didn't just bring her out of her shell, Daryl. You took a sledge hammer to it. I want to trust her-"

"Then trust her," he said.

"And how do you suppose I got about doing that if she's sneaking around and lying to me?" she asked pointedly.

"She's only sneakin' around because you tried to put her on lockdown."

Jenny eyed him. "Because I caught the two of you in bed."

"Sleepin'!" His voice was defiant and he felt like he wasn't getting anywhere.

"I don't know that," Jenny said, sounding exasperated and before it could turn into the same thing it had the night before he kept going.

"And that won't happen again. I'm willin' to follow the rules. I'll only see her when you want me to. No more sneakin' in. Whatever you want, I'll do it. I want you two to be what you were and I want my brother to stop pretending like he don't give a damn about you because of me."

Jenny ran a hand over her face. "It isn't you, Daryl. I want you to understand that, okay?"

He nodded.

"And you wouldn't be here right now if you didn't care about her and I appreciate that."

He kept his mouth shut.

"So, for the sake of my relationship with my sister, I'm gonna back off." Before he could say anything she held up a hand. "But the sleeping over stops."

"I can live with that," he said, almost grudgingly.

"On school nights I want her home by ten thirty. Midnight on weekends."

"Okay."

"And I'll stop hovering so much. I have to trust you both so this is a fresh start. The first time the two of you lie to me then... then she's grounded."

He raised his brows at that. These were things he could definitely live with.

"And I'd never ask you to stay away from her. You're a good kid, Daryl, and she's lucky she has you. And you're right. You're good enough, and I'm actually really happy to hear that you feel that way. And none of this is really your fault but it's sweet of you to take the blame. This is all on me."

He looked away, feeling more relieved than he could have imagined. He stood up when she did and he was shocked that she came around the table and hugged him. He patted her back awkwardly and was relieved when she pulled away.

"No sex," she said sternly. "Keep it in your pants until you're both in your thirties."

He felt his face flush all the way to the tips of his ears. "I am!"

She sighed and stepped back. "I believe you. I have to get back to work and you need to get your ass to school. She didn't spend all that time tutoring you just so you can slack off and come and go as you please."

He agreed, walking with her back out into the hallway. She pointed him to the back exit and he slipped out, feeling like this trip couldn't have gone much better. She was gonna lay off and he was gonna follow her rules to a T and now maybe everybody could find a little peace.

He was sure as hell gonna miss Carol's bed though. But it was still a fair trade.


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry. This story feels like it's everywhere now so I'm gonna try to wrap it up soon! Thanks for sticking with it!**

 **Chapter Eleven**

Carol had hoped he would show back up at school but it didn't happen. She didn't know what he could have been up to and it was more distracting than she ever could have imagined. She was having a hard time focusing on anything at all and it was infuriating.

Now she understood why other people had it rough. When you actually had a life, school just seemed... time consuming. It was an off feeling and one she hoped she got over soon. She didn't need distractions. She needed to focus. Not that it really mattered at this point, since the day was already over. She pushed her way through the crowd, something she never would have done last year, until she finally made it to her locker, shoving books inside and yanking out the ones she would need for tonight's homework.

She slammed the locker closed and then nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized Daryl was standing right there. "Jesus," yelled, her hand going to her throat as her heart jumped.

He grinned. "You look like you had a shitty day."

She frowned, studying his face and trying to figure out why on earth he would be in such a good mood. It wasn't like there was much to be happy about. They had made a total and complete mess of everything and the stress of it was weighing on her. She couldn't choose between him and her sister and she shouldn't have to. It was making her miserable. "It was just another day," she said, turning with him and heading down the hall towards the doors. "That probably would have been better if you had been here. This new codependency thing that we have going on here is for the birds, Dixon. I was perfectly content in my solitude before you came and shook things up," she muttered as they slipped out.

He laughed at that and steered her towards his bike that was illegally parked right on the sidewalk. "That stings."

She tried to fight a smile but this strange good mood he was in was a little infectious and she needed that right now. She stopped next to his bike and shot her own ten speed a wistful look. "I think maybe I should go home alone. I need to at least try to figure out how to bring a little balance to my life. I miss my sister." She hated that she felt so torn between the two.

He pushed a strand of hair out of her face, his eyes meeting hers. "I think she feels the same way."

She snorted. "I doubt that. I've turned into a total disappointment and I think every time she looks at me she's reminded of that. Maybe there isn't anything I can do to fix it but I want to try. I don't have to spend every minute of every day with you."

His brows went up at that but his face remained serious. "You ain't a disappointment to anybody, especially not to her. She just don't know what the hell she's doin'. She's gonna work on it too."

Carol frowned. "Yeah, I'm sure she's gonna jump right on that. You heard her. She was furious."

"I talked to her today. I manned up and walked right into the lions den. You outta be impressed," he added.

"You what?" she asked, knowing full well he wouldn't have done something like that. It just wasn't him and he had told her before that he hated the thought of walking into a nursing home because they were depressing and he didn't know how Jenny worked in one.

"I went there today and talked to her about it and she's gonna try to lay off," he said, sounding a little smug.

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. But if you think me and you need a break then go ahead and take your time, do what you need to do and give me a call when you figure it out."

She scowled at the knowing smile on his face. She climbed onto the bike. "Screw that. Let's go to your place and I'll make sure I'm home for dinner."

He chuckled and climbed on in front of her. She ignored the angry shout from the principal as Daryl tore away from the sidewalk.

~H~

Merle hadn't managed to get far before he was able to think about what he was doing and then he had turned right around and went home to think of the best way to approach this subject. It would have been stupid to storm into her work, even though her ass deserved for him to cause a scene. He was pissed. But he wasn't pissed enough to actually risk costing her her job. She had a kid to raise just like he did.

So he watched his watch until he knew it was time for her to get off and he drove back out to her work, parking beside her own car and waiting, fuming over his brother and hoping he could talk some fucking sense into this girl. When she finally stepped out he narrowed his eyes on the scene, since she was walking with some scrub clad pencil neck fucker who was saying something to make her laugh.

When she finally looked up the smile on her face died completely and she almost stumbled, clearly surprised to see him parked there. He crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the man, who also just realized Merle was standing there, leaning casually against his truck.

"What are you doing here?" she asked wearily, looking tired and on guard.

"We need to talk," he said, gaze traveling between her and the guy, who was still lingering. He didn't know why the hell it bothered him so much. Was she dating him? What the fuck business was it of Merle's if she was? It wasn't. The only reason he was here was to try to talk her into taking it easier on his brother. That was it. He wasn't here to try to fix anything between the two of them because that shit was just too complicated for his liking.

She looked at the doofus she was with and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow night," she said.

The guy nodded, gave Merle one more leery glance and then turned, heading for the other side of the parking lot.

"You got a date tomorrow night?" he asked, sounding mean even to his own ears.

She crossed her arms. "Not that it has anything to do with you but no, I'm picking up another shift so I can get an extra day off next week and Jeff is staying over to help out. What do you want to talk about, Merle?"

Fine, if she wanted to get right down to business then that's what he would do. "I want you to cut my little brother some fuckin' slack. He's blaming himself for the rift between you and your sister and he's blaming himself for me wanting to kick you right in the ass. And it ain't his damn fault. You make him think he ain't good enough and we both know that ain't the goddamn truth."

She narrowed her eyes at him but dropped her arms to her sides, seeming to lose a little tension. "Fine," she said firmly.

He blinked a few times, processing the world and then frowning. "What the hell do you mean fine?"

She shrugged. "Fine. As in, I'll cut your brother some slack. You happy now?"

He opened his mouth to tell her that he was but then he closed it again. What the hell was going on here? Why the hell wasn't she getting into her tight lipped battle stance? That was what he was prepared for, anyway. He sure as hell wasn't prepared for her to agree this easily. Hell, truth be told, he was prepared for her to fight it till he got tired of arguing with her. All he really wanted was for her to know that she was hurting his brother and if she was gonna keep doing it then he didn't want a damn thing to do with her.

She finally smiled slightly and tilted her head, studying him. "What? Isn't that what you wanted to hear?"

He was still a little flustered by her quick reply but he gathered himself and gave her a firm nod. "Yeah, it is."

"She'll still have a curfew but they can go out. And as long as he isn't sneaking in at night, he can be in her room with the door closed but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna throw in a few surprise inspections to make sure their clothes are on."

"Curfews are stupid. What the fuck are they gonna do at two in the mornin' that they can't do at eight at night?" he grumbled before realizing that maybe he should shut the fuck up since so far he was winning here.

She shrugged. "Take it or leave it, Dixon. I'm not arguing with you."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll take it. But why the hell are you givin' in so easy?"

"Because I miss you and I miss my sister and your brother is a really great kid that loves her. I just wanted to protect her but that kind of backfired."

He digested her words for a few long moments and then finally nodded towards the truck. "You wanna hop in? If you missed me so much that you're willin' to quit with this stubborn shit then I can let you go for quick spin out here in the lot." He was halfway joking. If she actually wanted to fuck him in the truck in broad daylight, he was perfectly fine with that.

"I'm not having sex with you in your truck, Merle," she said, walking past him to her own car.

He gave her a look and she waved him away. "Okay, we both know that's a lie but if they see me I'll get fired so you have to take a rain check."

"I can do that," he grinned.

"I'm sure you can," she said.

He hopped back in his truck feeling a hell of a lot better now that he'd talked to her and worked all this shit out for the kid. He was actually pretty damn excited to tell him.

~H~

Daryl probably should have been paying attention to the clock but he was way too fucking preoccupied for that. He almost felt guilty for the situation, since just earlier he had finally convinced Carol's sister that he wasn't some sort of pantie raiding piece of shit but he wasn't about to stop now. They had been on his couch for the good part of an hour and this was as far as he'd ever gotten before. Up the shirt but over the bra, he could totally live with that for a while. It was better than nothing anyway. And it wasn't like he had any chance of getting into her pants anyway, so he didn't really feel very bad at all.

Something told him that they should take this to his bedroom but Merle wouldn't be home from work for a while and no one was coming over. And she was actually allowed to be here so there wasn't in harm in having some fun on the couch. He really should have listened to that little voice in the back of his head because his lips had barely trailed down to her throat when he heard a low familiar whistle.

He flew off of her so fast that he nearly landed on the arm of the couch and toppled off but he was able to maintain his balance somehow and then he slid down, snatching up a raggedy couch pillow and placing it firmly in his lap.

"What the fuck are you doin' home!" he nearly shouted, his ears flaming.

Merle was grinning like the asshole that he was then he sat down on the recliner near the couch. "What's with the pillow?" he asked instead of providing an answer to Daryl's question.

Daryl grumbled a "fuck you" under his breath but he gripped the pillow a little harder in case Merle decided to steal it from him. At least with Merle in the room, he wouldn't have to worry about his problem for much longer. If anything could kill the mood, it was his older brother knowing he was sporting wood. Goddamn Merle.

"I wanted to catch you and let you know that you don't have to worry about Jenny anymore," he said smugly, like he'd had a hand in that.

"What makes you say that?" Daryl asked, flashing Carol a look that let her know to keep quiet about his trip to her sister's work. But Carol was too busy looking at her nails, not making eye contact with anyone, her face flaming. He didn't want Merle to know that he had talked to the woman.

"Well, I paid a visit to that home where she works a little bit ago and had a talk with her. She agreed to give you two a break."

"You talked to her?" Carol asked, apparently more curious than embarrassed.

"Yep. Can't have her messin' you two up," he said, his gaze flicking between them.

Carol finally looked over, meeting Daryl's eye with a raised brow but all he could do was shrug. She smiled slightly, like she was up to something before she turned her focus back on his brother. "It doesn't surprise me, really, since it was you that went and talked to her."

He knew that Merle didn't know that Daryl had made a trip there before Merle had even thought about it and he hoped that Carol knew it too. This was his victory and even though he was willing to let his brother think that he was taking the credit, Daryl at least wanted her to know that it was his decision that changed Jenny's mind, not Merle's.

Merle seemed interested in her words. He perked up a little but tried to play it cool. He was turning into a really shitty actor. "What the hell makes you say that?" he asked, trying and failing to seem nonchalant about it.

Carol stood up, shouldering her bag. "Oh, I think she was really bummed about the two of you fighting. She must really have a thing for you, Merle. I mean, she was so hell bent on keeping me and Daryl under her thumb, the only thing that could have made her loosen up is the fact that she's crazy about you."

Daryl wasn't sure what the hell the girl was up to, and even though Jenny had basically been like a blade at his throat lately, the talk they'd had today had changed his opinion of her. He at least understood who she was a little better and he had to admit that he liked her. But that didn't mean that Carol felt the same about his brother. She had voiced her concerns already, not wanting her sister to get hurt, so he was a little shocked she was taking steps to repair that relationship, if that was even what it was at the moment.

Merle chewed on this information for a few long moments, looking more troubled than anything else, like he couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Finally his expression cleared and with a barely there nod he got up and grabbed the truck keys he'd tossed on the table.

"Where you goin'?" Daryl asked, hoping that whatever he had decided to do, it wouldn't be another obstacle for him and Carol.

"Quit bein' nosy," Merle grunted as he pulled open the door. "And don't you forget to have that girl home by ten." He took off then, leaving Daryl and Carol on the couch to contemplate.

"You think he's going to propose?" Carol asked, trying to hide a grin.

Daryl snorted. "That ain't likely, but at least he's outta our hair." He grabbed her hand and yanked her across the couch until she was in his lap. He couldn't bring himself to dwell on his brother's love life. All he could do was hope that whatever Merle was doing, he was doing the right thing.


End file.
